


Home

by Frooster



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bang Chan is a Sweetheart, Chatfic Elements, Han Jisung | Han is a Sweetheart, Hwang Hyunjin Is A Sweetheart, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, ITS A JOKE I SWEAR, Lee Minho | Lee Know is a Sweetheart, M/M, Minor panic attack, Not Beta Read, Panic Attacks, Sugar Baby Minho, Sugar Daddy Bang Chan, There’s lots of crying, bc why not, but it’s cute... I think, hwang hyunjin is a little shit, i can officially say this, jisung doesn't have the money for three sugar babies, jisung is broke, kim woojin is protective, minho is homeless, minho plays the harmonica, my beta reader is grammarly, sugar baby felix, sugar baby hyunjin, sugar daddy han jisung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-03-09 23:25:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18927103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frooster/pseuds/Frooster
Summary: Minho had been living on the streets for less than a year when a certain Han Jisung with writer's block stumbles upon him busking in the park. Falling in love with his music, Jisung gives his entire livelihood to him and ends up accidentally taking the older boy under his wing.Join Jisung and Friends as they forever endeavor to get Minho, a boy too selfless for his own good, off the streets. And maybe along the way, they’ll find a family and home for themselves.





	1. Writer's Block is a Little Bitch

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello thank you for clicking on my story! I hope you like it :,)

Once upon a time, there was a young boy who lived with his happy family of four. He had a loving mother and father and a younger brother he would do _anything_ for. The boy was interested in everything artistic, but his brother was more interested in the medical field and cancer research.

Originally, his brother wanted to be a teacher, but when their mother learned that she had a mutated strain of breast cancer with no known cure, his passion changed. Their family was desperate to save her, and all nonessential expenses were redirected to her medical bills. After a six month battle, she was taken by the illness and their father lost himself to his grief. He started coming back later from work, trying to find a way to drown the pain of his dead partner. The boy was left trying to manage the household because of the negligent spending of his father. Suddenly, the school he was set to attend on scholarship was unimportant. What mattered was making sure that his little brother could graduate and make it into a school that he wanted to.

When the children’s father was arrested for attacking the barman who was trying to get the man to go home, the boy’s college funding took a major hit to make sure his father would be represented well and get the best sentence possible. Then his brother got into the college of his dreams, but tuition was too much without a substantial scholarship so the boy’s account took another hit in order to make sure his brother was able to do what he wanted to, despite his brother’s protests.

A month after his brother moved away, the boy’s childhood home was repossessed and he was forced to move in with a family friend. The friend could only keep him for a few weeks, though, and that’s where we find the hero of our story.

Alone, with no home. His only shot at happiness is his brother’s success. And that is plenty for Lee Minho. After all, a home is what you make it.

~~~

 _One of these days, I’m going to learn not to listen to Taemin about potential crash sites._ Minho thought bitterly as he dove in and out of the narrow alleyways, looking for the apparent “Best place I’ve ever seen, man. It was like a _palace!”_

“What type of bloody palace am I going to find just off the Han River?” he questioned, as he made his way across the road. _If this was like all those American shows I used to watch, I would probably end up dead under an overpass for even considering listening to Tae’s advice._ However, Minho had never been one to really listen to his conscious whenever it was telling him he was being stupid, so here he was going anyways.

Eventually, Minho reached the bank of the river. The flat, tree-less bank. _Taemin, what the actual hell?_ Making a mental note to A) never trust Taemin for a place to stay again and B) slap the shit out of him the next time he saw him, Minho grumbled and began to move through the area as the sun began to set.

It was honestly a series of unfortunate events that led to his relocation. Minho had claimed a lovely corner in an alleyway next to a couple of kind souls who were willing to show him the way of the street. However, one day while he was out busking with his harmonica, he came back to find all of his belongings packed into a bag and a new tenant taking up residence in _his_ corner of the alley. So, Minho was on the move again, looking for a temporary place to stay, but all of the local crash spots had been claimed to leave Minho no choice but to take Taemin’s advice and move to the park.

He walked for a few kilometers before finding a park with a few big trees and a few benches. He scanned the area and found a bench that was almost completely covered by the tree’s branches. He may end up being asked to leave, but for now, it looks like Minho had found his bed for the night.

 _Well,_ he thought as he unfolded the spare sheet he had taken from his room before he had to move, _I guess this is as close as I’ll get to a home for now._ Rolling onto his side, Minho pulled the blanket up to help fight the cold he could feel setting into his bones for the night.

_I guess this is where I say “welcome home.”_

_~~~~_

**Spicy Salsa**

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _writers block is a little bitch_

 **HanSquirrel:** _who wants to find it and beat it with a baseball bat for me?_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _i mean, im always down to beat something up but unlike you, i actually am inspired rn so no_

 

 **BangBang:** _are you struggling for an assignment or for a personal project?_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _y e s_

 **HanSquirrel:** _is there an all of the above option?_

 

 **BangBang:** _well,, i hate to break it to you but idk what to do bro. Do you ahve any idea what youre going to write abt?_

 **BangBang:** _have*_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _if you had been paying literally ANY attention you would realize he does not, in fact, AHVE any idea what to write abt_

 

 **BangBang:** _first of all_

 **BangBang:** _fuck you_

 **BangBang:** _second of all_

 **BangBang:** _unlike you, he can actually think sometimes so he may actually have an idea of what he wants to write_

 **BangBang:** _so shut the hell up_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _fyi the answer is no_

 **HanSquirrel:** _I have no idea what im doing i want to die_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _HAH @BangBang i TOLD YOU SO_

 

 **BangBang:** _I already said shut up don’t make me go to your dorm_

 **BangBang:** _okay @HanSquirrel, whyd ont you try a change of scenery? Go and walk along the Han River or smthing idk. Maybe it will help?_

 **BangBang:** _at least, that’s what wooj does whenever he gets frustrated with a chord progression._

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _we get it. You have a boyfriend. Let us be single in peace plz._

 

 **BangBang:** _asshole imtrying to be helpful_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _ugh would you shut up im SUFFERING and youre doing NOTHING to help me_

 

 **BangBang:** _i will NOT hesitate to go to your dorm and rip you limb for limb. If i don’t see you at the river later, you better believe I will come to your room and DRAG YOU THERE MYSELF_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _oh gee look at the time_

 **HanSquirrel:** _I totally forgot about my weekly Han on the Han time._

 **HanSquirrel:** _rip me guess ive gtg lol bye_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _lol coward_

 

 **BangBang:** _…_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _oh dear look at that I have an essay for piano 101 that ive gotta write_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _thats not even a class you coward_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _if you don’t leave me alone right now then im going to open a club called “killing people with a piano” and youll be my example_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _your threats mean nothing bc i crave death._

 

 **BangBang:** _._

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _oh lol look at the time bi or smthing like that_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _hA looks like ive gotta zoom. Catch me an hour from now complaining abt the sun or some bs._

 

 **BangBang:** _good riddance_

_~~~~_

 

Jisung would be the first to admit that he didn’t always make the most rational of decisions. His mother would be the second. When he told her that he didn’t plan on following in his father’s steps and going into business in order to work at their family ramen shop, and instead was going to be a music producer, she laughed in his face. When she realized he was serious, well, then she started to cry.

But, here he was, one year into his program and _thriving._ Or at least… that’s what his parents think. Considering his spending money for the next week was a single 10,000 won bill, he was very glad that he had befriended seniors who knew how to cook.

Regardless, Jisung knew he was at the river for a reason. That reason was  _not_ to bemoan his lack of money or ability to budget correctly. It was to bemoan the fact that he didn’t know what to write about.

 _Go the river, Chan said. I’m sure you’ll find inspiration there. After all, my amazing boyfriend does._ Jisung stopped himself almost immediately with the bitter train of thought. _Woojin is amazing, you absolute idiot. Stop mocking your nice helping seniors and try to actually focus._

_Well, it’s kind of hard when you won’t shut up._

_You’re literally arguing with yourself right now. This is why you only have two friends._

_6! I have 6 friends._

_Not if you don’t finish this freaking song._

_Swine. I’m working on it._

Jisung stopped the argument he was having and turned away from the river that was doing absolutely nothing to help him. He made his way over to a park with a few benches around scattered about and prepared himself for another bout of people watching that would likely end with him more frustrated than before, but what does he know?

He pulled a legal pad and pen out of his backpack and curled onto the very uncomfortable bench, desperately wishing he could just people watch from his room, but knowing that he would never get anything done if he kept avoiding uncomfortable places.

On his left, there was a couple at the drink stand waiting for (if he had to guess) a drink for the two of them to share. Probably something gross and pink because they looked like the type of people who would be that obnoxious.

Scoffing, Jisung made not of the couple and turned his attention to the two old men playing some type of board game. It was obvious from the way they hunched over the board that they both knew each other's moves well, but they were still determined to find a way to outsmart the other. Grinning, he wrote down the scene along with the line “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Jumping at the sound of a screaming child, Jisung saw a distressed father trying to herd his children away from the bank of the river just as the couple passed by with… two bottled sodas. _Dang it. They weren’t even colored unnaturally._

The father was able to successfully move his kids and the look of relief on his face was brief, as panic set in again as the two kids scampered off to go look at the next thing that caught their fancy.

Looking over to where the children were running, Jisung saw the back of a boy doing some type of busking. Pausing the music that was playing faintly through his earbuds, the soft murmur of the park surrounded him. Rising above the faint conversations around Jisung, and the rush of the river, there was the lilting melody of a harmonica. How someone could make those noises with it, he had no idea, but the music was absolutely beautiful.

Standing to get closer to the fun melody that filled the park, Jisung circled around the bench the busker was sitting at and… _oh._

Jisung felt several thoughts run through his head in that one instance.

  1. The harmonica looked very worn down and was obviously well used.
  2. The man playing the harmonica was probably homeless if the state of his threadbare shirt and pants was anything to go off of.
  3. The music wasn’t the only beautiful thing in the park.



Jisung wouldn’t consider himself someone who makes rational decisions. Anyone in his close group of friends would agree with that sentiment. From the way he spent his money, to his inability to stay asleep at night without waking up with some odd question that more often than not involved feet, Jisung was a special soul.

That is why it would not have surprised any of his friends when he, while gazing at the man with somewhat tangled hair, nimble fingers, a small nose, and a posture that indicated he carried the world on his shoulders, put his last ten thousand won note into the hat resting beside the man on the bench.

Jisung will admit that he stayed in the park far longer than anyone would think the hyperactive boy to have been willing to, but he just sat at the bench nearest the man with his harmonica and Jisung listened. He listened to the happy tunes, to the sad ones, and the anxious ones. Jisung was shocked at the amount of emotion that was put behind such a simple instrument, and he quickly figured out lyrics to match at least three of the tunes that felt familiar but had no distinctive name.

That day, Jisung went to the park with writer's block, he returned to his room with a new muse that he desperately hoped would be there for the next couple of days as he tried to finish his final project for Lyrical Comp.

_~~~~_

Jisung was a proud man, but he was also a weak one. That is why the next day, instead of going out and scrounging up some food from some random place in his dorm, he was messaging his seniors, hoping one of them had made something he could steal for breakfast.

**Spicy Salsa**

**HanSquirrel:** _So rememeber that one Tumblr post where the lady is like “i saw a man so beautiul i gave him literally everything in my wallet bc im unworthy” or smthing like that?_

 **HanSquirrel:** _oh yeah also goodmorning_

 

 **BangBang:** _yes good morning, Jisung. Glad to see you up to your usual shenanigans._

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _oh my god youre so old. Just say shit liek the rest of us and call it a day._

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _anyways yeah, totally unrealted to what I mentioned, but do any of you mayhaps want to donate either mcdonalds money or some free food to your favorite Junior?_

 

 **BangBang:** _im sorry what?_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _wait no not again_

 **Dark_Binnie:** _PLEASE tell me you didn’t give your food money to a random pretty stranger_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _I didn’t give my money to a random pretty stranger_

 

 **BangBang:** _Han jisung so help me god_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _I gave it to a beautiful busker in the park yesterday. Duh._

 **HanSquirrel:** _So anyways. Food._

 

 **BangBang:** _I should really just tell you to fend for yourself but wooj was over and he made too much again. Just come over and bring your dancer friends. I haven’t seenthem in awhile_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _you mean the other people hes taken under his sugar daddy wings?_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _oh lookee here_

 **HanSquirrel:** _guess ill just have to show hyunjin those love songs you left at my dorm the last tiem you were over._

 

 **BangBang:** _im sorry your WHAT_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _han if you want to see the light of day again, I strongly suggest against that. Or you better believe Ill hunt down your new park play thing and tell him each and every one of your deepest and darkest secrets._

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _lmao wait you actually have love songs? Brb dying_

 

 **BangBang:** _wait you like hyunjin?_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _Jisung?_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _yes dear, beloved Bin?_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _R U N_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _dw. Way ahead of you. Ive already got my plane ticket to the us BOOKED_

 

 **BangBang:** _well,, i guess that means youre not coming for breakfast?_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _no wait im desperate ill be over in 6._

 

 **BangBang:** _wtv, see you there_

 

_~~~~_

Today was not going to be a good day. Minho could tell just by the way the clouds loomed over him. A storm was coming, and he really didn’t want to be out in the open when everything likely got drenched.

Looking into his backpack, he pulled the money he had made from busking at his new “home”. 37000 won. Nowhere near enough to get him someplace to stay for the night.

Minho scanned the mental map he had, looking for any nearby covered areas that the inhabitants may not mind a stray human in front of for the night.

 _Of course._ He realized, _the bakery has that awning and I’m pretty sure the store owner would let me stay there if I volunteered to work a shift. I’m pretty sure that’s what Taehyung did when there was a big storm that blew through._

Gathering his belongings, he got up and started walking to the on-campus bakery that was near the park. There weren’t many things that Minho could call his own. He had a blanket, change of clothes, a spare pair of socks, a toothbrush, deodorant, and some relatively inexpensive shampoo and body wash. He had a minute phone that he used to call his brother once a week and check in on how he was doing at college. And finally, probably the two most important items he had: his backpack and his harmonica. Minho had had the harmonica since he was in diapers. His father had given it to him and explained that his grandfather had left it to him and that he should protect it well. The backpack didn’t have _near_ the same history, in fact, he had hated that backpack until the day it became his entire house. Minho had used the backpack for all of his core classes, and all it had really been good for was collecting papers with his average grades. But it was fine. Now, he is just a high school graduate trying to find a home and a job, just wanting to help his little brother to the best of his ability. Nothing would ever make him change the decisions he had made in life to reach this point, and he was glad that he was there.

 _Well, maybe not today._ Minho looked up to see a lightning strike in the distance, hearing a low rumble of thunder roll across the city. _I really hope the baker is in a good mood today._

Minho walked for about ten more minutes before he reached the little bakery. It was called Breaking Bread and was most well known for their movie and tv themed cupcake and pastry designs. Minho had gotten an in with the head pastry chef when he had seen Minho’s entry in the design a cake challenge. Minho had originally entered the competition for the prize money, and even though his design hadn’t taken first place, it had garnered enough attention to be useful. Whenever Minho found himself on near the bakery, he would stop by and check in on the pastry chef’s status and see if he needed a volunteer for the day. More often than not, Minho was turned down, but some days he managed to catch the chef when he was short-handed. Those were the days Minho could ensure a roof over his head.

Stepping into the lobby area, Minho waved to the part-time workers who were putting the fresh baked goods into the display window. They smiled and pointed to the office door a little way away from the register. Minho took a deep breath and walked into the small room, a friendly grin plastered on his face and walking as if he had a metal rod welded to his spine. Good impressions were everything.

The head chef looked up from the paperwork he had been reading through and gave a small sigh when he saw Minho walk into the room. “Let me guess,” the tired man said, “You’re here to beg a job off of me.”

Minho smiled shamelessly as he sat in the chair across the desk. “I’m not necessarily here to beg, but I could if that would amuse you?” He relaxed a little when the chef laughed -- he was in a good mood today.

“I saw the weather and I figured you’d be stopping by. Sana is _thrilled._ I let her leave early because she had to take care of her nieces today.” Minho kept his face cool and polite, even as his stomach leaped at the direction the conversation was taking. “You can work in the front on icing today. I actually hired a new worker so if you wouldn’t mind showing him a few of the ins and outs of the store, that would be a huge load off of my plate.” 

Standing up, the chef went over to the cabinet he kept Minho’s spare uniform in. It was a simple thing, khaki pants with a white shirt and a green apron, but Minho absolutely loved the apron and would find little pins and knickknacks to stick to it in order to make it more his own. Minho bowed as he took the clothes and thanked the chef for the opportunity.

  
“Don’t mention it. Even if I can’t let you work here every day, whenever I can, you know I’m happy to fit you in. Just don’t make my customers mad and we’ll be fine.” With a fond grin, the chef stepped back behind his desk and looked back down at his papers, the grin quickly fading.

Minho smiled as he left the room and moved to the bathroom to change. While he was in there, he went ahead and took the liberty of doing some small grooming things. He brushed his teeth and ran his fingers through his hair -- he would try to wash it that night after he got off of his shift. After freshening up, he quickly got changed and put his backpack in the backroom before making his way to the front of the store. He greeted the assistant chef and the dough workers as he moved through the room before getting to the counter kept in the front of the store.

Minho saw a tired-looking boy sitting at the register, waiting for someone to come in, and figured he must be the new employee the chef had hired considering he hadn’t seen the boy before. He walked over to the boy and tapped him on the shoulder, startling the boy (and himself) in the process.

“Oh! Uh, hi.” he stuttered out. _God, why was he so bad at introductions?_ “My name is Minho, I’m going to be working with you today.”

The boy gave him a fixed customer service grin and replied, “Hi, I’m Seungmin and I’m new here. I hope we can work together well!” Minho scoffed, causing Seungmin to give him a bewildered look.

“ _Please_ don’t give me that fixed bull shit.” Seungmin let out a startled laugh and looked toward the head chef’s door, but Minho didn’t let him worry too much before continuing. “Anyways, to overshare a little, My name is Lee Minho. I am 21 years old and I currently live in the park about two kilos away from here. I love anything art related, but I have a special affinity with dancing and playing instruments. Now that you know a bit more about me, maybe we can be friends?”

Seungmin’s fixed smile had fallen off of his face as he gaped at the amazingly honest and beautiful person in front of him. At least, that’s what Minho thought the reason was. He wasn’t really ashamed of living on the street, everyone goes through ups and downs in life, and this just so happened to be his low in life. People might pity him, but if they decide he isn’t a better person for it, then that is their own issue they’ll have to sort through.

Minho grinned at his shocked coworker and turned to start wiping down the counters. Icing was a dangerous game for anyone involved, and the stainless steel counters didn’t quite fancy the sugar levels of the treat. Hearing Seungmin shift off his stool, he turned and watched as his coworker removed two chocolate chip cookies from a tray and bag them. He quickly rang the cookies up and turned to Minho with an expectant look on his face. Holding out the cookies, he said, “My name is Kim Seungmin. I am currently studying vocal therapy at the local college. I have been there for one year, and that is one year I’ve been away from home. I am 19 years old and when I graduate, I plan on staying in Seoul and working at a local nursing home so I can maybe give the elderly something peaceful to hear in their last few years. Would you like a cookie?”

Seungmin smiled and shook the that was hanging between the two of them. It seems Minho wasn’t the only one who was willing to step out of their comfort zone for the day. Minho smiled and grabbed the bag before removing one cookie and handing the bag back to Seungmin. At his confused glance, Minho explained, “You bought two cookies, and two people shared something about themselves the other didn’t previously know. Therefore, it only seems right that two people get a cookie.”

Biting down into the treat and glancing up to see Seungmin doing the same, Minho grinned and said around his mouthful of cookie, “And please feel free to call me hyung.”

~~~~

After the rather peaceful cookie break at the start of the shift, Minho and Seungmin set to work on cleaning up the front of the store and making sure the cookies all looked presentable. Minho showed Seungmin how to smooth the icing out on the cookies so it all looked connected and not so much like the icing had just been added.

About two hours into Minho’s shift, Seungmin was getting ready to leave for the day when a rather loud group of people tumbled into the relatively quiet space. Minho heard a faint “Oh no,” from behind him, but didn’t question it, customer service mode already engaged.

“Hello, welcome to Breaking Bread. Would you like to try our freshly baked and iced sugar cookies?” He asked as the boys crowded around the counter.

Instead of responding to him, the tallest boy called to his frozen coworker, “Yo Seungmin, you get to work and smell these cookies every day? No wonder you decided part-time was the way to go.” At the casual way he was addressed, Minho realized that these must be Seungmin’s friends.

 _Well, obviously the boy has a knack for attracting raw beauty to his side if he somehow managed to befriend this lot_ and  _me_ _._ Minho thought as he smirked and the irritated look that graced his ever so patient coworker’s face.

“For real,” the boy with blond hair chimed in and _oh my god how can someone look like that but sound like that?_ Minho questioned as he turned his attention back to the trio. “I would actually need to go to the gym and start acting like Channie and Changbinnie if I worked here.”

The third boy scoffed, still not looking up from his phone, and chimed in with a simple, “A cookie a day brings diabetes to stay.” Snorting, Minho moved in front of the still-frozen Seungmin and bent down so the boys would notice him.

“Hello,” he greeted with a smile sweeter than the godforsaken icing. “My name is Minho. Is there anything I can get for you today? Perhaps a roll or a bottle of water?” The boys froze for a second, seemingly realizing that they weren’t following the standard customer to employee code of conduct.

“Ah yes,” the blond responded, being the first one to break out of his daze. “We’ll take four cookies and two water bottles, please? Two of the flower cookies and one oatmeal raisin, plus one of whatever Minnie wants. His shift is done soon right?”

Minho smiled as he moved to fulfill the order, already placing a pecan sandy into the bag for Seungmin. He had seen the boy eyeing them all day, but not getting one because he had already bought the chocolate chip cookies. “Yes, his shift ends in the next five minutes, although he could probably go ahead and leave now if he wanted to.”

He turned to look at Seungmin, seeing the boy knocked out of his panicked daze and now calmly ringing the order up. “It’s going to be 12000 won. Are you going to be splitting the bill?”

The tall boy walked over to Seungmin and leaned against the counter as a smirk fell on his face, almost as if it was always there. “Ah see, we would, but some local idiot you know decided to continue with his sugar daddy ways and sponsored some random dude in the park by donating his last 10000 note to the poor soul.”

Seungmin fixed a look on his face that Minho was beginning to think was a permanent state of being for the boy around this particular group of people. “Dear god, not again. I thought he had moved past giving money to pretty people after he somehow hooped you _and_ Felix into the group.”

“ _Excuse you?_ I am a delight. Thank _you_ very much.” The blond boy griped, moving to stand next to the taller boy. _So the short one must be Felix. Does that mean that the one who donated to the random person is the one still on his phone?_

“Okay,” the blue hair boy said, finally glancing up from where he had been typing furiously. “First of all, he was an absolute _angel_ and that “random guy” saved me from my writer's block. _Second_ of all, I don’t appreciate this absolute _slander_ of my good name.” Minho snorted as he saw the trio prepare for the tirade the boy was going to unleash upon them. At the quiet noise, though, the boy turned and seemed to lose all form of coherent thought for a brief minute.

“Jisung?” Seungmin asked, moving a little to try to catch Jisung’s (?) sight. Seeing his friend seemed to snap the dazed look (honestly if this kept up, Minho was going to have to start a tally board) out of his eye and he turned back to his friends, flustered.

Thinking nothing of it, Minho turned back to where he had begun icing the marbled cookies for the window display. It was one of the only ways he could pretend he was in a coffee shop because of the way he was supposed to design the cookie resembled latte art. But that was neither here nor there, as the real reason he had started on those particular cookies was to eavesdrop on the surprisingly interesting conversation.

“Anyways this guy was absolutely amazing and he didn’t even notice me so it was _not_ sugar daddy behavior and I am _disgusted_ that you would ever consider me, broke college student Han Jisung capable of successfully paying for _two_ lives.” He scoffed, “I can barely pay for three-quarters of my own.”

Felix (at least, Minho _thought_ that was his name) grinned and waggled his eyebrows at a flustered Jisung. “It also doesn’t help that you thought he was _pretty_.”

Jisung groaned as the tallest one giggled. “Oh. My. God. Do you _ever_ shut up? Maybe find someone else to write you a song for your choreo _now_ you absolute heathens.”

“The only heathen here is _you,”_ Seungmin snapped from where he was still waiting at the register. “Now would one of you please pay so you can _leave_ this store? Just look at my coworker, you’re exhausting him with your constant babbling.” Minho, catching along, pretended to muffle a giant yawn before going back to his icing job. When a shadow moved in front of his cookies, he looked up to see Jisung smiling shyly at the counter.

“Those cookies look really pretty. What type are they?” He asked, and Minho almost melted on the spot. _Damn it, heart, pull yourself together._

“Ah, these are a coffee and vanilla marble cookie. I’m icing these ones for the display window because the big boss really likes how I do the art on them.” He grinned up at the boy before ducking his head back down to focus on the particularly difficult swirl he was trying to complete on the cookie.

“I can see why, you must really love art if you’re willing to put that much effort into it,” Jisung muttered to the top of his head. Minho grinned and replied, “It’s not so much the effort that needs to go into something. It’s the love that goes into a project that makes it beautiful.”

Before Jisung could reply to that, the taller boy gave a sharp whistle from the door. “Jisungie! Stop falling in love and hurry up! Changbin is waiting for us at your dorm for the movie to start!”

Jisung blushed violently before giving another soft smile to Minho and turning to his friend, expression immediately changing as he made his way to the door. “Alright Hyunjinnie, if you keep talking like that, I’ll be sure to let Changbin know how you rushed _everyone_ out the door the second you heard you might see him. Honestly, you can’t even _spell_ whipped without your name. Asshole.”

The boys continued to bicker as the door swung shut behind them and Seungmin immediately relaxed and released a long sigh. “I’m sorry about my friends, they can be a real handful.” He looked over at Minho and smiled kindly, “But you handled them pretty well! Thank you for putting up with them for me, hyung.”

Minho smiled at the boy and patted his back as he passed by to grab a spare towel to clean the space he was just working in. “It was no problem, they were actually pretty entertaining to listen to.”

Seungmin grinned and typed his number into the time punch. “Well,” he began as he gathered his things from the bottom shelf, “maybe next time I can meet your friends to return the favor. Bye hyung!” Not noticing the smile slip off of Minho’s face, Seungmin darted out of the door and ran in the same direction that the noisy trio had gone in.

“Bye, Minnie! Have fun with your friends!” Minho called to Seungmin’s retreating figure before wiping down the counters (again. What can he say, he’s thorough?) and contemplating what Seungmin had said.

Minho was a pretty social guy. He could easily fit into several different clans of homeless people in Seoul, but there had never been a group that he really clicked with. Minho remembered one of his old friends from high school, Woojin. He was probably the only person Minho would ever consider introducing to his kind coworker, the homeless crowds would probably be way too rough for him. Of course, it didn’t matter now. Woojin was probably off being somewhere successful in the world while Minho scrubbed counters to keep a roof over his head.

Snorting, Minho brushed the bitter thoughts away and scratched at a particularly dried on a bit of icing to get it to come free. Once he was sure his area was clean, Minho sat on the stool Seungmin had been occupying for the afternoon and waited for his next round of tasks to roll around. Whether it be prepping sweets or helping customers, Minho resolved to do so gratefully and not let his bitterness come into his daily work. He had made every decision that had led him to this point, and no matter how much he may wish for small luxuries, Minho knows that he would never change what he has for anything. And with that thought running through his brain, Minho smiled as the bell dinged, signaling the door had opened and greeted the tired mother and her three kids with a smile.

_If you fill your life with joy, no bitterness will be able to take root._

~~~~

Jisung knew the third degree was coming. He expected it the second Hyunjin told Seungmin about the busker he gave his money to. Granted, Jisung hadn’t expected the boy to be _there,_ but he obviously didn’t recognize Jisung, nor did he seem to know what the four friends were talking about. Jisung was honestly surprised to learn that the busker -- Minho? -- worked at the bakery Seungmin had been trying to get into for at least a month.

After looking at Minho’s work, Jisung could see that his passion for art extended over not just music. With the care he iced the cookies, Jisung almost fell for the boy right there, but he knew that he would never hear the end of it if he let his friends know, so some tame flirting was all that he could allow himself to do.

When the boys got back to Jisung’s dorm, a lazy “hey,” greeted them from the small living area he had. Changbin had made the place his, there was a laptop with a producing program opened on Jisung’s small coffee table and there were various snacks scattered about the place that had _not_ been there when Jisung had left.

“Please,” Jisung commented drily, “make yourself at home.” The rest of the boys snorted as they moved through the doorway and shed their shoes and coats. Seungmin snuck in behind Felix and gave Jisung a look that made the boy flinch back. He wasn’t going to get out of the discussion of his stupidity.

Stalling the inevitable for as long as possible, Jisung put on his perfect host personality and closed Changbin’s laptop (not that he noticed, he was too busy listening to the story Hyunjin was recounting about the dogs he had seen on the way) before going to get drinks for the five of them.

It had been a while since Jisung had had this many people in his room, and he was just grateful he had recently cleaned up. After grabbing five water bottles from the mini-fridge he kept in the corner of his room, Jisung turned to see everyone’s eyes on him. Sighing, he sat down and raised his arms, inviting the questions he _knew_ were coming to be thrown at him.

Seungmin started the conversation by asking him to give a full recollection of what had happened. Jisung happily recounted his daring adventure to the park and the beautiful music he had heard (and could still hear as he retold the story) before finally admitting he had donated his last 10000 won to Minho.

“So that explains the lack of money at the bakery, but why did you suddenly act like your mommy made you go buy ice cream by yourself when you saw Minho?” Seungmin questioned. Jisung gulped and glanced down at the floor before answering, “He was the busker I saw yesterday.” Based on the coos that came from around him, he could tell that his friends were not going to let this minor crush he seemed to have to go.

“I mean,” Hyunjin chimed in, “at least I can agree that he was pretty. Your man had some beautiful eyes.” Jisung blushed and glanced over, only to find Changbin glaring at him. _Ah yes,_ he thought, _the little green monster is rearing his head._

Felix had been sitting and staring at Jisung throughout the whole interview, it seemed that he didn’t have much to say, but then he sat forward and looked at Seungmin. “Hey Minnie,” he began. “What can you tell us about Han’s one true love?”

Ignoring Jisung’s offended squawk, Seungmin looked over to Felix from where he had sprawled on the floor. “Well, he told me that he’s 21 years old. He really likes anything art or music-related. I learned that he has a little brother who just started college in Busan this year. I think that’s about it?”

“Did you find out where he lives?” Hyunjin giggled from where he had curled against Changbin’s side. Apparently, the jealousy had subsided if the fond look on Changbin’s face was anything to go off of. “Jisung needs to know where to stand with his boom box to get his lover’s attention.”

Seungmin shifted and looked in no general direction as he replied. “I don’t really know if I can say this, but he seemed pretty open about it?” Jisung looked sharply at him at the uneasy tone in Seungmin’s voice. “Minho is homeless. I’m pretty sure he was busking at the park because that’s where he sleeps.”

Jisung nodded along. So that’s why he was busking. Some people do it for fun, some people do it because...

_Wait._

“Did you say Minho is _homeless?”_ Jisung sat up and glared at Seungmin. The boy nodded and seemed to plead with his eyes for Jisung to drop the subject. Shocked, he did just that, sitting back and wondering what cruel fate would allow someone as obviously talented as Minho to end up on the streets.

Sensing a lull in the conversation, Changbin glanced around before moving to put on a movie, the original reason they were there, after all. As the opening credits rolled onto the screen for some random inspirational sports movie, Jisung found himself unable to pay attention to the screen as his mind kept wandering back to the artist with no bed to return to for the night. And, try as he might, he couldn’t get Minho out of his head.

_~~~~_

“Hey, Innie,” Minho greeted when he picked up the call from his younger brother. Minho knew that he was going to call at some time that day, he was just glad Jeongin had waited until later in the day so he could have a full conversation with him once his shift got done.

Sitting on the step of the covered entrance to the bakery, Minho nodded to people passing by. Jeongin began rambling in his ear about what he had been learning the past week, and Minho closed his eyes and let his brother’s excited voice consume him. Not understanding any of the terminology thrown at him, Minho still made noises at the appropriate times as Jeongin went on and on about some type of analysis of the small intestine and then the stomach and on and on it went.

After rambling for what must have been thirty minutes of descriptions of random innards, Jeongin finally calmed down enough to as Minho about his week. Minho carefully told him how he had recently changed his busking location to one closer to the bakery he was working at part-time. He also told Jeongin about the choreography he was working on for his dance team.

Jeongin was completely unaware of Minho’s lack of a home. He still thought the boy lived in their family house and commuted daily to a local dance academy where he was training to become a dance teacher. While Minho wished that was the case, he had to drop out of the course a semester in because he couldn’t pay tuition without taking ridiculously high loans. Having remained on the streets for almost three months at that time, he thought he was doing pretty decently, however, with winter rolling in, he knew this is where the real test of his survival skills would come in.

When there was a low rumble of thunder that rolled across the sky, Jeongin asked Minho where he was, and Minho had to make some excuse about walking home because he got released too late to catch his bus. Ignoring the concerned noises Jeongin let out, Minho quickly said goodbye to his brother and promised to text him as soon as he got home.

Jeongin reluctantly let the other go, and Minho pulled back to sit against the door, as far away from the pavement that would eventually get soaked, he sighed and prepared himself for one of the longer nights he had had since leaving his house.

As the rain starting gently falling, Minho closed his eyes and started humming along to a tune he had heard Seungmin singing earlier that day. After about ten minutes of just listening to the rain and singing, he opened his eyes to shoot a message to Jeongin to reassure him Minho had made it “home” safely, only to pause at the figure standing in front of him.

Glancing up, desperately hoping it wasn’t a police officer, Minho was surprised to see an angry Han Jisung glaring down at him with an umbrella clutched tightly in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” Minho asked, “Don’t you have somewhere that’s not outside that you should be at?”

Jisung glowered at Minho before holding a hand out for the confused boy to take. Minho grabbed Jisung’s hand and gave a startled yelp as he was pulled up from his perch on the step.

“I’m here because _you_ don’t have somewhere not outside to be. So you’re coming with me.” Minho began to protest as he was dragged along under the umbrella, the rain beginning to pick up.

“I had a perfectly good place to stay. The awning would have kept me plenty dry.” Jisung just scoffed and the two boys continued into the storm until turning into well-lit stair area. Minho belatedly realized he must have been brought to Jisung’s dorm.

Minho tried to protest again, only to be silenced by a glare shot his way. Trailing up the stairs behind Jisung like a lost dog, Minho wondered how the boy he had only met that day had taken such an interest in him.

Coming to a door, Jisung didn’t even bother fumbling for a key before pounding on the door. It was quickly opened and Minho’s eyes widened as he was met with Seungmin’s tired face. _At least now he knew why Jisung knew he didn’t have somewhere to stay for the storm._

Seungmin quickly woke up when he found his coworker behind his friend’s back and he quickly backed away from the door, letting Jisung lead Minho into the softly lit living area. Minho realized that, despite the small area Jisung had, he obviously tried to make the room feel as homy as possible. There was a bunk bed pushed against the wall with a desk where the second bed would normally go. A sofa and coffee table were pushed against the other wall and there was a laptop currently propped on the table with a movie paused on it. In the corner, there was a mini-fridge and what looked like a laundry/school work area.

After looking around the room, Minho turned his attention to the people currently gaping at him. (Or more likely, the boy in front of him, who had just finally managed to calm down.) Minho saw the other two boys who had been in the bakery that day and noticed Hyunjin curled against a boy with an oddly pointy chin, both staring at him with eyes blown wide. _This must be Changbin, then._ Minho thought to himself, gearing up for an introduction.

Before he could begin, however, he was interrupted by a curt, “Everyone, this is Minho, he’s staying here tonight because of the storm. Behave.” With the thinly veiled threat hanging in the air, Jisung went and curled onto the sofa again before pressing play on the movie. Obviously trying to make the situation feel as normal as possible.

Felix, the short one, smiled at him and patted the seat next to him. Minho moved over and sat stiffly next to him, only to be pulled back into the chair more comfortably. “Don’t worry about Jisung,” Felix whispered to Minho. “He gets like this when he’s worried about his friends. He’ll be back to his usual cheery self once he realizes you’re okay.” Looking over to see a reassuring smile on Felix’s face, he nodded quickly before turning to watch what was left of the movie.

Before he got too invested in it, though, he remembered that he promised to text Jeongin when he got home, and he figured Jisung’s dorm would be better than his original plan, so he messaged him quickly:

 **GardenHoe:** _I’m staying at a friend’s house tonight. They picked me up when it started raining so I wouldn’t look like a drowned rat when i got home lol_

 

 **FoxedIn:** _Good! Stay safe, hyung. I worry about you_

 **FoxedIn:** _I don’t know how to heal major injuries yet. Give me at least two years before you get hurt._

 

Smiling fondly at his phone, Minho turned it off and noticed a curious glance from Seungmin. Shrugging, Minho pointed in Jisung’s direction before glaring at the younger boy. Seungmin mouthed _sorry_ at him, and Minho figured that would be the best he would get from the boy who had been worrying about him that day already.  
Minho let out a content sigh and turned his attention back to the movie. _I guess this isn’t going to be one of my worst nights after all._ _  
_


	2. Sugar Brother Bonding Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SugarBBy: Hyunjin  
> SugarBae: Felix  
> Daddy: Jisung
> 
> here we go again y'all

Jisung groaned as he heard his phone have a seizure on his desk. It was just his luck that his friends had morning classes and a tendency to complain about them during said class when he just wanted to _sleep._

Grumbling, he rolled out of bed and went to grab some Poptarts (or something equally unhealthy. He wasn’t picky) as he looked at the chaos that was one of his _many_ group chats.

**Jisung and His Sugar Babies**

**SugarBBy:** _so does someone want to tell me why a dance major requires liek 27 courses of biology?????_

 

 **SugarBae:** _bc body or smthing? I think my councilor explaimed it but tbh i didnt care enough to pay attention_

 **SugarBae:** _i think it had something to with muscles and stretching properly? Dont like,,,, quote me though_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _sure muscles are fine. Tell me ALL abt the spine idc._

 **SugarBBy:** _H O W E V E R it is NOT cool to make me learn whatever the fresh hell a pseudocoelomate is_

 

 **SugarBae:** _one more time in korean plz_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _Thats what I said but nooo gotta freaking know the difference between a real hole and a fake hole._

 **SugarBBy:** _Im GAY not stupid_

 

 **Daddy:** _what in the name of all that is good happened to my good christain group chat_

 **Daddy:** _even better follow up question_

 **Daddy:** _what fresh hell did my new name crawl out of_

 **Daddy:** _and finally why am i haering abt bio at 9 in the AM????_

 **Daddy:** _its too early for this bullshit_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _Hi welcome to morning class hell. Popluation? ME_

 

 **SugarBae:** _hey padre is your third sugar baby still there? I want to meet my sugar brother_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _yeah wait we need time to bond over how broke you are_

 

 **Daddy:** _idk your nonsense conversation woke me up_

 **Daddy:** _and stop B U L L Y I N G  me ill file for abuse charges_

 

 **SugarBae:** _but is it abuse if you like it??_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _ooo does daddy have a pain kink????_

 **SugarBBy:** _maybe you can get your newest baby to help you ;)_

 

 **Daddy:** _i literally hate every single one of you two people here_

 **Daddy:** _muting the chat? Now._

 

Jisung turned his phone over once making sure the chat was, in fact, muted and wandered over to the kitchen to grab his sad breakfast, only to be greeted with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. Next to the simple breakfast was a note, placed under a glass of orange juice.

 _What the hell? I didn’t even know I owned this cup._ Picking the note up, he read the short message scrawled across the paper:

_Dear Jisung,_

_Thank you for letting me stay in your dorm last night. I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother. I made you some eggs to make up for my intrusion._

_Have a nice day!_

_Minho_

Jisung looked at the paper, then the food, then the paper again. _He thought he was a bother?_ Jisung thought back to last night. He remembered Seungmin mentioning Minho was homeless and that itself didn’t sit right with Jisung, but he let it go because  _surely_ it was fine and Minho would be fine.

Then it started to rain a bit and Jisung had to stop himself for going out and looking for the cute boy he saw at the bakery. He just barely managed to stay seated, _then_ it started to thunder and Jisung had had enough. He paused the movie, glared at his friends as they started to protest, and told them he’d be back shortly.

Jisung honestly had no idea what possessed him to help the boy, but he _knew_ that he had to find Minho before the weather got any worse. Starting at the park, He traced through everywhere he thought the boy might go to find shelter. Then Jisung realized how little he knew about the boy he had only seen in passing.

Hoping for the best, Jisung hurried over to the bakery, shuddering as some of the water pooling on the sidewalk splashed against his legs. Moving as quickly as he could, Jisung almost shouted with joy when he saw a figure huddled under the awning. He moved over to Minho quickly and made the executive decision to let him sleep in his dorm for the night. Screw the college’s rules. Homeless is a good enough excuse if the supervisor catches him.

And, well, here he was the next day, staring at a plate of cold eggs and wishing he had the person who made them with him.

_Wait what?_

Jisung scratched that thought from his mind and went about scarfing down the cold breakfast. If Minho went through the effort to make something for Jisung when he didn’t have to, then Jisung was going to eat every bite and be _thankful._

After finishing his breakfast and running the dishes through the sink in the bathroom, Jisung got dressed and went out to hunt down his inspiration to write a song. _Stupid teachers and their stupid assignments. One of these days I’ll write a song just because I want to write a song and not because some old hag makes me._

But until that day, Jisung was just going to have to pester his friends until something popped into his head.

~~~~

Minho woke up as the sun hit the windows. He sighed as he thought back to Jisung convincing him to stay the night. Although Minho was coerced into staying, there was _no way_ that he was letting Jisung give him his bed, so Minho curled up on the sofa and called it a day.

Rising with the sun was something normal for the homeless boy, and he quickly got up to get ready to leave. Hearing soft snoring behind him, Minho looked to see Jisung curled on his side, clutching a pillow to his chest as he curled into another under his head.

 _For someone so loud and brash, he sure does look cute when he’s sleeping._ Minho grinned and decided to try to repay the gesture of kindness the college student had extended to him. Going over to the fridge he opened it, hoping to find things to fix a simple breakfast with. Instead, he found three water bottles and a note that read “Don’t forget to go buy groceries. Lol wait you’re broke. Love, Jisung.”

Sighing, Minho looked around the room and, seeing nothing, decided to go see if the neighbors were awake and willing to spare a few eggs. Not wanting to wake anyone up, Minho peeked out the door before wedging a shoe in the crack so he could get back into Jisung’s room. He quietly moved down the hallway and looked for a light on under any of the doors. Finding one at the end of the hallway (and hearing voices in it too, _score!_ ), Minho softly knocked on the door.

He heard the shuffling inside stop before someone moved over to the door. As they pulled the door open, Minho was greeted with a tall man with wide shoulders and a warm smile. His hair was still mussed from sleep, but he was wide awake.

“Hello,” the boy greeted Minho. “How can I help you?”

Before Minho could answer, he was interrupted by a tired, “Woojinnie, who is it?” Glancing over ‘Woojinnie’s’ shoulder, he saw a sleepy-looking blond boy crawling out of the double bed in the room. _Maybe they’re together?_

“I don’t know, Channie-ah, he was just about to tell me.” the brunet replied as ‘Channie’ came and draped himself over his back.

“Uh,” Minho began. “Hi, my name is Lee Minho and a friend let me stay over last night so I wouldn’t get caught up in the rain. I wanted to do something to thank him, but he didn’t have any breakfast foods at all. Do you have any eggs or something like that that you would be willing to spare?” Minho looked hopefully at the thoughtful look that crossed the brunet’s face and he nodded before gesturing for Minho to come inside the dorm.

Minho stepped into the room and realized it was a lot more put together than Jisung’s. The kitchenette actually looked _used_ and the bed was really the only messy part of the room. _Which makes sense, if they had only just woken up. God, I’m such an asshole._

“Sorry the room is a mess,” the blond boy said, moving to pick up, honestly Minho wasn’t even sure. Maybe a piece of lint off the floor? “My name is Chan, and that’s my boyfriend Woojin. It’s pretty cool that you want to do something like this for your friend.”

“We end up feeding a lot of our friends breakfast because they don’t know how to function in the morning, so you’re in luck. Your friend won’t be going hungry today!” Woojin walked over to the pair in the entryway and handed Minho a Tupperware with a few eggs in it. “Just let your friend know to give these back to me. I’m the RA so he should be able to find my room pretty easily.”

Minho smiled and nodded, taking the container from Woojin. “Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to let Jisung know.” Minho turned to leave, completely missing the look Woojin gave Chan as the two wondered what _exactly_ their resident problem child was doing now.

~~~~

Jisung was waiting on the lawn for Seungmin and Woojin to join him. He had an idea for a melody line in the song he was working on, but his voice wasn’t trained enough to do what he wanted it to do. And because Jisung was a _professional_ he bribed his friends with a promise of food he didn’t have.

Honestly, the eggs he had eaten were the only nutritional food he had eaten in about two weeks that wasn’t almost forced down his mouth by Woojin. And that’s saying something right there.

Smiling, Jisung thought of the bewildered look Minho had fixed him with when he found him in the rain. It was so different from the focused look he had icing cookies or even playing the harmonica.

 _Not to be that person,_ he interrupted himself, _but isn’t it kind of creepy to think of the facial expressions of someone you literally met yesterday?_

_Actually shut up. Nobody asked you._

_I mean, technically…_  
Before Jisung could get invested in his internal debate, he heard a nasally, “Yah!” from across the courtyard and turned to see the two vocalists walking toward him.

Grinning, he ran up to the boys and launched himself at them, ready to shower them in love and thankfulness for doing his song. Before he could, however, Woojin held up a hand and simply asked, “Where’s our food?”

Freezing, Jisung let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, I don’t have it _yet_ , but I’ll get you something from the convenience store the next time I get paid.” He gave his friends a sheepish smile and saw nothing but acceptance. They knew this would happen, it’s what always did happen.

“Well, at least you can give me back my Tupperware,” Woojin said with a stern look. _Tupperware?_

“Hyung,” Seungmin began, looking up at Woojin with a _very_ confused look on his face. _Me too,  Seungmin, me too._ “Why does Jisung have your Tupperware?”

“Well,” Woojin said, laying the lecture tones on thick. _Crap, I did something wrong again, didn’t I? Goddamnit, Jisung._

“Whatever it is, I didn’t do it. I don’t even cook. Why would I have your Tupperware?” Jisung started listing excuses a mile a minute and Woojin sat there and waited for Jisung to take a breath.

As soon as he paused, Woojin cut in, “Your friend, Minho, told me about how you let him stay in your dorm last night so he wouldn’t get caught in the rain.”

_… crap._

“Anyways, in order to thank you, he asked if he could borrow some eggs to make you breakfast. Of course, I said yes, because what type of RA would I be if I didn’t prioritize the safety of my residents.”

_Crap. Crap. Crap._

At this point, even Seungmin looked disappointed in Jisung, and he was only a mildly responsible figure, at _best._ “You let a stranger into your dorm so they wouldn’t get caught in the rain?”

Woojin nodded and then fixed Jisung with an even stare. “So, do you care to explain what you were thinking, inviting Minho to stay in your dorm?”

Seungmin suddenly looked over to Woojin. “Did you say Minho?” Turning to Jisung, he gave him a disappointed look. “I know Minho is your inspiration and whatever, but he’s homeless! What if he had-”

“ _What?”_ Jisung flinched as Woojin’s tone darkened exponentially. If he had been mad before, now he was absolutely furious. “Han Jisung. Please, for the love of God, please tell me you did _not_ let someone _homeless_ stay in your dorm full of all of your most valuable things?”

Looking Woojin in the eye Jisung simply said, “I did the right thing.”

_CRAP!! Abort mission! Abort! Mission!_

Jisung turned and looked at Seungmin, planning on avoiding Woojin’s eyes for a solid lifetime, if he could help it. “Seungminnie,” he whined. “Whatever happened to snitches get stitches?”

Wincing, Seungmin held his hands up. “Look, man, I like Minho as much as the next guy, but I’m not going to let someone I met maybe five hours ago sleep in my room just because there’s a bit of rain.”

Ignoring the pained choke that came from Woojin, Jisung plowed ahead on trying to make Seungmin understand his reasoning. “One of the reasons I did it, in fact, the _main_ reason I did so was to make sure he was okay and healthy. Everyone should have a safe place to stay the night. Also, I knew him for a _day._ He is _literally_ the reason I was able to crank this song out so quickly so would you please kindly shut up?”

Seungmin looked at Jisung for what felt like two hours. Jisung was honestly surprised that Woojin had stayed quiet for as long as he had. “I guess he seemed okay when I was on shift with him,” he admitted.

Huffing, Jisung turned to tackle the next giant: Woojin’s disappointment. “Hyung,” he began, softening his voice and shrinking down to appeal to the paternal side of Woojin he _knew_ existed. “I know I’m impulsive almost all the time, but I really did think about it before I let him stay. You apparently talked to him. Did Minho _seem_ like the spawn of Satan?”

Woojin hesitated before shaking his head. “Anyone who wants to make breakfast for someone is typically a good person in my book.”

Jisung waited, but it seemed like he had nothing else to say. Figuring it was enough for now, he gestured for the two boys to follow him to the recording booth he had checked out for the day. Despite the tension that was between the group, Jisung was able to get what he needed from the vocalists and they left shortly after.

Jisung cleaned up the mess he had made in the studio and grabbed his flash drive so he could connect what he had with his laptop in his dorm.

Seeing Seungmin standing outside the door, waiting for Jisung to finish up, Jisung sighed, knowing he was about to be cornered.

Walking out into the hallway, he felt Seungmin fall in step beside him, and they walked in silence for a few minutes before Seungmin seemed to figure out what he was going to say. “I know you met him a few days ago, but you seem way too invested in Minho’s well being for just being a concerned citizen. Especially one as dumb as you.”

Jisung scoffed, getting ready to defend himself, but then Seungmin hit him with a hypothetical frying pan in the face. “Do you like, like-like Minho, Jisung?”

Stunned, Jisung turns forward again and pretends he didn’t just feel his entire core rotate out of alignment at the speed he had turned to look at his friend.

“I- I don’t want to jump to conclusions!” Seungmin quickly justified, “It’s just that… you really seem to care a lot for someone you saw playing the harmonica in the park and I just want to make sure-”

“I- I think I might like him.” Jisung began shyly. “Maybe just as friends, maybe more. But there’s something about him that makes me want to get to know him better. I want to see the Minho behind the homeless appearance. Does that make sense?” Jisung turned to see an understanding gleam in Seungmin’s eyes.

“He _is_ a nice guy, I can say that confidently.” Seungmin paused as if considering something. “Okay, I’ll talk to Woojin and make him see a bit of… I don’t know, it’s not reason. I’ll make him see your side of the story? God knows that’s the opposite of reasonable, but what more can I do?”

Jisung smiled and got ready to praise the gods for all that was good and pure in the world (Read: Kim Seungmin. A god among men.), but was interrupted by Seungmin’s next sentence. “You should probably go to the park and start trying to woo your Cinderella. I think his fairy god-brothers went to the park earlier with Chan to record something and we know how chaotic your sugar babies are together.”

Jisung groaned, “Why does everybody keep calling them that? They are _not_ my sugar babies.” Looking at Seungmin’s concerned smile, the rest of his sentence registered in Jisung’s mind. “Oh god, Felix and Hyunjin are at the park unsupervised?”

At Seungmin’s nod of affirmation, Jisung groaned. “I might as well just _die_ then. I have no idea what trench I’m going to have to dig myself out of when I get there.”

~~~~

Minho had started the day thinking it was going to be a good one. He had gotten the eggs from the RA (whatever that meant. Hopefully he didn’t get Jisung in trouble.) and, after a very quiet but extensive hunt, found a pan to fry the eggs in. Leaving the Tupperware on the fridge (surely Jisung would find it) with another note telling him to return it to Woojin, Minho crept out of the dorm while Jisung was still out like a light.

Since he didn’t make any breakfast for himself (heaven forbid he take the eggs when they weren’t given to him to eat. They were just for Jisung and Minho knew better than to infringe on someone’s hospitality like that.), he stopped by a convenience store on his way to his bench. Finding a bag of cookies on sale, Minho quickly forked over the necessary bills and ate the cookies as he walked.

Once he reached the park, he set up his hat and perched himself on the bench, waiting for some people to show up before he started to play. Minho leaned back and hummed to himself as he thought of the movie he had watched with Jisung. It had been so long since he had actually seen a movie, he’s actually not even sure what he was watching, just that it was more interesting than anything else he would have been doing that night.

Seeing some runners approaching, Minho sat up and began softly playing his harmonica, hoping to gain their attention for even just a few seconds. Sadly, they passed by and Minho, out of spite, played even louder in the vain attempt of getting noticed.

Stopping when the runners were just blurs to him, Minho grumbled to himself and wondered if that was how his day was going to go today. Most people don’t want to get out after a storm because of the puddles and the general atmosphere. He probably was going to have a slower day and that wasn’t looking good for his hygiene budget.

Hearing a childish giggle and some shouts from behind him, Minho looked up at the sun that had risen above the treeline and began to play a hopeful song. Maybe the children behind him would like his music enough to beg their dad to give him some money.

 _Dear god,_ he thought to himself as he heard the giggles get softer as they (hopefully) noticed his music. _I’m such an awful person._

“Hyung, check that guy out. He’s like… crazy good. Can we go listen for a bit before we start recording?” Minho heard behind him. _So there’s an older guy too… I’m sorry for doing this._

Playing a more upbeat ditty, Minho heard the children shuffle over before a deep voice called out, “No way!” Pausing briefly in the song before going on, Minho realized that the voice he heard was kind of familiar. _Where have I heard it before?_

“Hyung! Minho-hyung it’s me! Felix!” Minho stopped playing and turned to see three people standing and gaping at him. Or… to be more specific, one figure was gaping at him… Chan? Pretty sure that’s what the blond’s name was. Felix was grinning at him and he looped his arm through with his taller friend (Hyunjin?) who was also grinning at him like he was a gold bar. _One day,_ he thought, _I’ll get their names right. Especially if I keep running into them like this._

“Felix? What are y’all doing here? It’s really early for a trip to the park.” Minho asked, focussing on the member in the group whose name he was confident with.

“Ah well,” he began, looking at Chan (?) to make sure it was okay to say whatever he was planning. At the blond’s nod of approval, he turned back to Minho and gushed, “We were here to film part of a dance for a song Channie-hyung helped write. He’s in charge of the video though because he only helped with the lyrics or something like that and he needed a bit more for credit with the group. Hyunjinnie and I made a choreo for him and he’s going to buy us food when we’re done!”

Minho blinked at the exposition dump he had just received. “Oh,” he began. “So you’re dancers?” At the two boys’ affirmative nods, Minho smiled up at them. “Then do you mind showing me what you choreographed? I haven’t gotten to see good dancers in a while.”

Hyunjin and Felix exchanged a look and Chan nodded at him. “Sure! We were just about to do a practice run-through. I’m going to have them do it several times, though, because I’m only the one person and cuts are hard with a handheld.” Minho smiled and watched the two boys stretch.

“You know,” he began, completely giving up on busking for the day, figuring this group would be more entertaining to work with. “I used to dance before I ended up here.” Felix and Hyunjin looked up at him, clearly surprised that the man of many talents had another to tack to his belt.

“Really?” Felix asked.

“Yeah, I was actually going to go to school to become a dance instructor before my dad got caught up with the wrong crowd.” _Why are you telling them this? Shut up Minho._

Hyunjin gave him a sympathetic smile and said, “I’m sorry that you had to go through something like that. If you don’t mind, do you want to show us your dancing? We always look for fresh talent to add to our group.”

“Although,” Felix cut in, “right now it’s only two people in the group because no one else can put up with our attitudes. Apparently, we’re too ‘wild’ and ‘don’t know when to be serious’. Assholes, the whole lot of them.”

Minho laughed at that and decided that he’d join the boys for a ‘trial run’ as they so kindly put it.

“And just think,” Hyujin began, grinning. “If you do join our team, we already have a name for the group!”

“What,?” Felix scoffed, “Are we going to rip one from the producers and call ourselves DanceRacha?”

“Even better,” Hyunjin said with a maniacal gleam in his eye. “We can be the Sugar Brothers.”

Minho looked at Hyunjin, and then at Felix (who seemed to be choking on his own spit. Hopefully that’s not hazardous.) “Why that? What do any of us have to do with sugar?”

Before Hyunjin could answer, Felix was quick to interrupt him. _He seems to do that a lot, I wonder why._ “Well now that we’ve all stretched properly, let’s do some freestyle to warm up. Jinnie? Why don’t you go first.” Minho turned and looked at the dancer and he nodded, although that gleam hadn’t left his eye yet. _This conversation probably isn’t over yet._

Felix put a smooth song on and Hyunjin listened to it for a few seconds before starting to move his body along with the song. His motions were very smooth and connected, it was obvious that he had been dancing for a while and he was passionate about it. Suddenly, the beat was introduced to the song and Hyunjin’s motions got a lot stricter, but there was still something incredibly fluid about his moves. If Minho had to describe it, he would say that Hyunjin looked like water when he danced. He could have strict and harsh moves, but in the end, it all calmed back to the smooth and beautifully connected moves that Hyunjin seemed most comfortable with.

Once the song faded out, Minho clapped the boy on the back, noticing how he was barely even out of breath. “I absolutely loved that. It looked completely choreographed.” Hyunjin smiled brightly at the compliment and turned to face Felix.

“Your turn,” Felix grinned and tossed his phone to Hyunjin, who easily caught the phone and scrolled through the boy’s music. Hyunjin put on a song that started with hard-hitting beats in the fanfare.

Right away, Minho could see the difference in Felix and Hyunjin’s dancing. Where Hyunjin was very smooth and connected with his moves, Felix almost bounced to the next move. He had a very energetic way of moving that showed the audience just how much he loved dancing. As the music got darker, Felix’s moves kept the same bouncy weight to them, but they became stricter. The dance itself got darker and lighter as the music moved along. Felix was able to perfectly convey what he was feeling with the dance, almost like he was dancing in the clouds and when the music faded out, the boy landed. As soon as his dance was done, Felix immediately broke into a wide grin and looked to Minho, wondering what the elder felt.

Before Minho could compliment the boy, Chan ran up and tackled Felix to the ground. “You were amazing!” he cheered from his spot on Felix’s back. From the way he lit up, Minho could tell that Felix adored the affection (and the compliment, too, if his giggling was anything to go off of.)

“You really were good!” Minho agreed, “It was like watching someone dance on air.” He nodded sagely and looked over to Hyunjin, only to see him with that god-forsaken gleam in his eye again.

“Alright, hyung, it’s your turn now!” Minho gave a sheepish smile to Hyunjin and went to replace Felix and Chan, noticing a fair few people milling around now that the boys had been dancing for a bit.

Minho closed his eyes and waited for the music to come on. This was always the most nerve-racking part of freestyle for him, what type of dance he was going to have to do. Since his eyes were closed, he didn’t notice Hyunjin kick out the hat he would use for busking or notice Felix pull his phone out of his pocket to record his dance. Finally, he heard a song similar to Felix’s start. The bass sounded dirty and there were several hard-hitting points in the song if it was the one he was thinking of.

Smiling, he felt his body begin to move as some of the melodic chords broke through the hard bass. Keeping his body smoother at first, he made sure to include strong hits and bounces to maintain variety in his moves. It had been so long since he had to think so suddenly about what he was doing with his body, and honestly? His mind went blank as he felt the music surrounding him.

Once the song reached the pre-chorus, Minho prepared for the drop he knew was coming. As soon as the song paused, Minho’s eyes shot open and he glared directly in front of him as he rolled his body along with the music. The seductive beat rolled over the entirety of the park and the audience seemed shocked at the way he threw himself into the dance.

When the second verse began, Hyunjin slowly faded the music out and Minho calmed his motions to match it. When he stopped moving, he closed his eyes and looked down, only to jerk his head up at the smatters of applause around him. Felix ran up to him and shouted, “Hyung! You were amazing!”

While Felix was showering the boy with compliments, Minho didn’t notice Hyunjin walking around with the hat and gathering the small bits of change the onlookers had on hand. He thanked each of them and told them to look for the trio to be around the park area more often. Once he made a complete circle, he went up to Minho and handed the hat to the boy. “Hyung, you made about 10000 with that song.” Minho stared at his hat, filled to the brim with wadded bills.

“Guys, why did you collect this? We were just dancing for fun.” Minho looked up to see kind smiles on the boys’ faces and Felix explained, “We figured you’d be pretty good at dancing because of how good you were at icing the cookies and playing the harmonica. Obviously, you weren’t making money by playing the harmonica today, and we didn’t want you to lose a whole day worth of busking just for us.”

Minho felt tears well up in his eyes, but before he could wipe them away, he felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulder. “I don’t really need to know why you’re busking. That’s not my business,” Chan began. “However, it’s obvious my boys care about you so please accept this from them as a show of thanks for giving them someone to care about.”

Minho scoffed, schooling his features and forcing his tears back. Now was not the time to be emotional. “God,” he began, trying to get is callus and sassy self back. “No wonder you're a lyricist if you can drop things like that on a limb.” _God dammit it, Minho, that’s_ not _sassy!_

From the laughter that surrounded him, though, he figured what he said worked. Chan pulled his phone out of his pocket and grinned when he saw a message on the home screen. 

“Well boys,” he began, “looks like Jisung is going to join us for lunch.” Minho looked at Chan before looking at a now cackling Hyunjin and Felix. Obviously, something had happened or been sent to the boy to cause his abrupt appearance.

Minho nodded to himself as he gathered his hat and began to move back to the bench, not noticing the boys following behind him. As he sat back down, he began to think about what else he needed to do for the day. He could probably do with a new toothbrush and the 10000 would do well enough to get him a shower somewhere. _That_ would be nice. Maybe he could find somewhere to charge his phone? He couldn’t remember the last time he charged it, or when his bill was due, come to think of it. Maybe he should hold off on that shower and go to the store to check on his plan.

Making up his mind, Minho stood up, only then noticing that the trio hadn’t left him yet. He looked between Felix, Chan, and Hyunjin. “What are you guys still doing here? Don’t you have a dance to be shooting or something like that?”

Chan smiled and shook his head. “I got a lot of what I needed from the freestyle, actually.” He paused before a panicked look crossed his face. “Wait, you don’t mind being on camera, do you? That thought didn’t even cross my mind!”

Minho looked at him, shocked. “Chan-ssi, it’s fine! I didn’t realize you thought I’d be good enough to even go in your video in the first place. Thank you for asking though, would it be okay to see the final product?”

“Don’t worry about the formal language with me! Call me hyung!” Chan paused and then looked at Minho, “You _are_ younger than me, right? I’m 23 years old.”

Minho nodded, “I’m 21 this year. So I guess that makes you my hyung, hyung.” Hearing a small giggle behind him, Minho looked at Hyunjin to see him snickering into his sleeve as he held his phone.

At his questioning look, Felix answered for Hyunjin, “Jisung will get here soon. Hyunjin just got finished harassing him.”

Hearing a despondent sigh beside him, Minho chuckled when he overheard Chan mutter, “ _Just_ what we need.”

~~~~

**Jisung and His Sugar Babies**

**SugarBBy:** _sungie i have great news_

 

 **Daddy:** _please, for all that is good in the world dont be where i think u r_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _remember how chan-hyung wanted to film our freestly today at the park? Well it turns out a certain suitor of yours was there_

 

 **Daddy:** _god no_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _we, being the absolute amazing friends we are, decided to hang out with him and guess what!!_

 **SugarBBy:** _your newest sugar baby dances too_

 

 **Daddy:** _oh_

 

 **SugarBae:** _yeah Minho hyung is liek,,, scary good at dancing hold on_

 **SugarBae:** _i got a vid_

 

 **Daddy:** _oH_

 

 **SugarBae:** _[_ _video attached_ _]_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _wait for it_

 

 **SugarBae:** _what are we waiting on?_

 

 **Daddy:** _stiorhgiohfioshiow_

 **Daddy:** _WHAT was that oh my god_

 **Daddy:** _he dances so wel idk what to do is he stil at hte bpark i was gonna come eat with ou but wo wis he eating with us omg_

 

 **SugarBBy:** _if youre here inthe next five minutes, maybe you’ll find out._

 

 **Daddy:** _im S P R I N T I N G_

 

_~~~~_

When Jisung got to the park, he was very clearly out of breath, something Hyunjin found great amusement in. Seeing Minho in the same clothes he had been yesterday, and Chan with his arm draped over the slightly smaller boy’s shoulder made something warm and fuzzy prowl in his stomach. _Who needs butterflies in your stomach when you can just have a solid mammal instead? Everyone else is just weak._

Felix ran up to Jisung and gave him a big hug, “Act natural.” The Aussie threatened as he moved to drag Jisung to the others. Seeing a shy smile on Minho’s face almost broke him.

“Hi, hyung.”He said as he was pulled forward. “Thank you for the eggs this morning. They were really good.

“Oh?” Chan quipped, “So it was you letting strangers into your dorm.” Jisung was about to defend himself, but seeing the amused smirk crawl across Chan’s face made him realize he wasn’t in hot water here.

“It was a big help for me,” Minho replied to both of them. “Thank you, Jisung, for giving me a place to stay, and Chan, thank you for being with someone nice enough to give eggs to a stranger.”

“Well this is sweet and all,” Hyunjin but in, clearly getting tired of the sentimental talk. “But can we please just go get a cheeseburger or something? I’m starving.”

Chan shook his head before gathering everyone together to move to a restaurant. As Jisung was being pulled along, he ended up next to Minho, who looked frazzled.

“What’s wrong?” he asked the older as they walked, noticing Chan’s arm still around Minho’s shoulder.

“I mentioned splitting to go get my phone checked on so that your friends could enjoy lunch with you and Chan-hyung hasn’t let go of me since then.” Minho leaned over to whisper in his ear as best he could. Obviously not wanting Chan to hear.

“Oh.” Jisung paused and looked at Chan, then the rest of the group, and finally looked at Minho again. “Good. You look like you could do with some protein on you.” Turning to the boys who were obviously eavesdropping, Jisung raised his voice, “Hey guys!” Pretending to just realize Jisung was talking, the group turned to see what he had to say. “We should get some barbecue. It’ll be easier to get more and share that way.”

Ignoring Minho’s protests, the rest of the group agreed and they turned at the next corner to go to one of their favorite restaurants. “Guys barbecue isn’t really necessary. Why don’t y’all just go to McDonald’s or something? I’m not dressed nearly nice enough to eat in any actual restaurant.”

Hearing the last issue, Jisung turned and looked at Minho. He looked at his face smeared with a bit of dirt from who-knows-where and his messy hair that would pass for casual if not for the twig sticking out of it. He looked down to Minho’s well-worn jeans and his tattered shirt. Nodding to himself, Jisung asked the group to turn into a clothing store they were passing.

Minho, immediately catching on started protesting again, but Chan simply handed Jisung his card and turned him loose in the men’s clothing area before Felix and Hyunjin took an arguing Minho to the bathroom while Chan smiled at the concerned clerk behind the counter.

Jisung moved over to the t-shirts, knowing Minho would actually kill him if he got something more expensive than 10000 won and looked. Eventually, he found a black v neck shirt that was just nice enough to look good in public, but casual enough to look amazing with his jeans. Guessing on the size, Jisung grabbed the shirt and _\-- oh, it’s soft --_ takes it to the cashier.

After ringing up the shirt, Jisung took it back to the bathroom where Chan was standing guard. “You’re not allowed in. They said its sugar brother bonding time or something like that. I can take the shirt for you.”

Jisung huffed as the shirt was pulled from his hands and Chan disappeared into the bathroom, where it sounded like a war was taking place. Jisung shuddered and sat by the bathroom, waiting for the group to come back out.

When they did emerge from the bathroom, Jisung was glad that he _was_ sitting because Minho was _pretty_ when he dressed up slightly. The boys had styled Minho’s hair so that it was off of his face and his forehead was bared for the whole world to see. The shirt fit perfectly, showing off Minho’s collar bones -- which Jisung didn’t even realize was something that could be shown off until they were- -- and the color went excellently with his hair. Finally, his face had been cleaned and it looked like the boys had found makeup from somewhere because Minho’s lips were slightly tinted and his skin looked smoother. Overall--

“You’re such a snack right now. Just _look_ at Jisung. He’s practically drooling.” Felix was convincing Minho that he looked okay, and Jisung was not… objecting per se. _But did he really have to say I was drooling? That’s not even a little bit true._

“I’m drooling because I’m starving. Can we please go get food now that we all think we look presentable?” Jisung defended himself before moving to stand. Hyunjin moved, probably to tease him more, but Minho cut him off with a small smirk.

“Sorry, Jisungie, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” He gave Jisung a once over before walking out of the store, a slight sway in his hips.

Jisung was proud to say he wasn’t the only one who choked on his spit watching him leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know I just posted yesterday but I got this done today because I've been doing nothing so I figured I'd share it! Once again tell me what you think about everything!
> 
> A small spoiler for the next chapter:  
> "Oh my god was that too forward? I know that flirting with my friends was fine before, but I’ve known these guys less than a day? I’m dying? Please God, let me go back in time and not say that."
> 
> Contact me on [twt](https://twitter.com/2minlix) if you want!


	3. I survived the snap babey I ain’t afraid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hyunjin: Hyundsome/Proteccer  
> Felix: YeetLix/ELixer  
> Chan: Chrispy/mom/BangBang  
> Seungmin: MinnieMouse/Ataccer  
> Minho: MustProtecc/GardenHoe  
> Jisung: HeSings/MinhosHoe/HanSquirrel  
> Changbin: CBing/CornChip/Dark_Binnie  
> Woojin: Woojout/Dad  
> Jeongin: FoxedIn

_Oh my god was that too forward? I know that flirting with my friends was fine before, but I’ve known these guys less than a day? I’m dying? Please God, let me go back in time and not say that._

Minho stopped almost immediately outside of the store once he realized that A) he had no idea where he was going, B) Felix still had his bag with his entire life in it, and C) he made a dumb move by _flirting with someone he knew for less than a week._

Turning back around, trying desperately to hide his red cheeks, he saw a smirking Hyunjin and a flustered… everybody else.

_At least I’ve still got it?_

The group of boys quickly made their way outside once they realized Minho was waiting on them. Pretending nothing had happened, Minho allowed himself to be tucked into Chan’s side again, happy to have another body in the cooler breeze.

_This isn’t weird, right? He has a boyfriend and he’s just being nice to me. Good god, why is it that the second I put makeup on and get a new shirt I go back to acting like an insecure high schooler. I thought I left that behind with the acne!_

“Hey,” Minho heard Chan’s soft voice ease through his momentary panic. “You good? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“Yeah, hyung,” Jisung quipped from the other side of him. “We don’t have to go to this restaurant if you really don’t want to. I’m sure Lixie and Jinnie would be fine with street food as long as they get something to eat.”

Minho took a deep breath before straightening up. “No, no, I’m fine.” He reassured them, “I’m just overthinking things because I’m a dumb-- I would say college student but I’m not that… I’m just a dumb guy who likes to overthink way too often for it to be healthy.” Hearing a soft giggle in front of him, Minho glanced up to see Hyunjin looking back at the trio.

“You know, Minho,” Hyunjin began. “If I didn’t know any better, I would totally think you and Channie-hyung were dating. You’d make such a cute couple!” Ignoring the way Jisung and Minho nearly died, Hyunjin brought his phone out. “Can I please take a picture to send to Woojinnie-hyung so he realizes you’re not evil?”

Before Minho could _vehemently_ protest, Chan agreed with a loud, “Sure!” And Minho was suddenly squished between Chan and Jisung, only one of the three people really happy to be there. Hyunjin snapped a quick picture before looking up as if there was a giant alien right behind the boys in the photo.

“Minho-hyung,” he began very seriously. Minho was _desperately_ hoping that it was an alien and not something wrong with him.

“Yes?” He asked, almost tempted to look behind him because of how _serious_ Hyunjin had suddenly gotten.

“I just realized something very important.” _Did he finally realize that I’ve basically invaded their group and I’ve been unintentionally leeching off of them just because they’re nice? I think I have 50000 won, I wonder if that’s enough to repay them._

“And that is?” Minho prompted, really just wanting to run away from the whole situation.

“I don’t have your phone number,” Hyunjin replied brightly. “How am I supposed to share this picture with you if I can’t text you?”

Minho nearly collapsed. If it hadn't been for Chan holding him up or Jisung holding him back, Minho would have either died or launched himself at the younger boy.

“Oh,” he replied, quite brilliantly in his own opinion. “I actually don’t have a functioning phone number because that plan is too expensive. I can give you my Kakao ID, though?”

Minho heard Felix chuckle and he looked at the shorter boy, “Hyung,” he began. “It’s bold of you to assume we would want something where we couldn’t severely manipulate your name.”

Minho felt the tension completely ease from the air and he agreed to give the boys his ID, that way maybe he could have someone to talk to when he was feeling lonely on his bench.

Boy was he wrong.

 

~~~~

** WE ARE FAMILY **

**Hyundsome:** _monsieurs, mademoiselles, it is with great pride and deepest gratitude_

 

 **YeetLix:** _that we welcome you to…_

 **YeetLix:** _the new group chat!_

 

 **Chrispy:** _dear god what have you done_

 **Chrispy:** _dear god what is my NAME_

 

 **Woojout:** _this is literally the least creative name ive ever seen why is THIS waht you give me_

 

 **YeetLix:** _its cause youre lame_

 

 **Hyundsome:** _now sit down_

 **Hyundsome:** _the adults are talking_

 

 **MinnieMouse:** _that is a bold move are you sure you want to make it_

 **MinnieMouse:** _that man is literally your only reliable source of income_

 

 **MustProtecc:** _Am I allowed to change my name?_

 

 **HeSings:** _absolutely not. Blocked. Never ask that question eve ragin we only speak the turty in this gc_

 

 **Chrispy:** _what, for all that is good in the world, is the turty_

 

 **HeSings:** _THE TRUTH***** you swine_

 

 **CBing:** _i literally hate everyone uere why am ia here_

 

 **Hyundsome:** _even me, hyung :(((_

 

 **CBing:** _wait hyunjin is that you_

 **CBing:** _no i could nver hate you who said hate not me not in this house_

 

 **YeetLix:** _whipped_

 

 **CBing:** _I will not hesitate to E N D Y O U_

 

 **YeetLix:** _I survived the snap babey I aint afraid_

 

 **MustProtecc:** _sorry to interrupt, but why am I here?_

 

 **CBing:** _yeah wait who are you i know literally 6 other people and theres 8 here i know i didn’t pass math but that doesnt seem right_

 

 **Chrispy:** _oh! Thats minho i adopted him_

 **Chrispy:** _if you hurt him ill kill you_

 

 **YeetLix:** _seconded_

 

 **Hyundsome:** _thirded_

 

 **HeSings:** _fourthed (?)_

 

 **Woojout:** _hold on is he the guy jisung let sleep in his dorm_

 

 **CBing:** _oh yeah! Sorry man didn’t realize you had a phone_

 

 **MinnieMouse:** _hyung please not here_

 

 **Chrispy:** _woojinnie i wont hesitate to actually murder you_

 

 **MustProtecc:** _oh! Thank you, again, Woojin-ssi for letting me borrow some eggs._

 **MustProtecc:** _did Jisungie ever get the Tupperware back to you?_

 

 **HeSings:** _waht is this proper grammaer doing in the gc_

 

 **CBing:** _keepig you out. Plz leave the adults are talking_

 

 **HeSings:** _oh what’s in this songbook I wonder?????_

 

 **Woojout:** _to answer your question, Minho-ssi, no, Jisung did not return my Tupperware. Are you sure he still had it?_

 

 **MustProtecc:** _what do you mean?_

 

 **Woojout:** _what I mean is thathiosfhdsihfdigh_

 

 **Chrispy:** _wow sorry about that Woojin totally just dropped his phone into the sink where he was doing dishes o no_

 

 **YeetLix:** _truly a shame. Whatever shall we do now that his phone is gOnE_

 

 **CBing:** _perish, ig._

 **CBIng:** _who else is good enough at cooking to make us breakfast???_

 

 **HeSings:** _i mean,,, the cold eggs i had this morning were probablythe best cold eggs ive ever had in the history of ever_

 **HeSings:** _also @Chrispy I have your Tupperware and im holdingit ransom until i get my daily cuddles_

 

 **Hyundsome:** _youre literally so hig h maintence_

 **Hyundsome:** _why do we put up with u again????_

 

 **HeSings:** _youd perish without me_

 

 **MinnieMouse:** _sure, jan_

 

_~~~~_

Minho stared at his screen, muting the chat and the argument that would occur between the younger members in the group and looked up into the starry sky. The night was absolutely beautiful. It was just warm enough that he didn’t feel like freezing his toes off but cool enough that he didn’t feel like peeling off a layer of skin. The sky was as clear as it could get for Seoul and he admired the cityscape that reached out across the Han River.

He knew exactly what Woojin had been implying before he “dropped his phone into the sink”. Despite the perfectly civil conversation they had had _before_ Woojin had learned about his lack of a place to call home, Minho was seen as nothing more than a rat to the man now simply because he lived on the street. Because he didn’t have a house or apartment, he immediately felt the compulsion to steal anything given to him out of the goodwill of someone’s soul.

It was absolute bullshit is what it was. Minho worked just as hard to get to where he is today as every single person in that college dorm. Feeling his phone vibrate, Minho looked down to see a message from Jeongin. There. There was someone who doesn’t look down on him. There’s someone who could make him smile no matter how down he was feeling.

 

 **FoxedIn:** _hyung! How was your day today?_

 

 **GardenHoe:** _it was good! I went and ate lunch with some friends and even got a new shirt!_

 **GardenHoe:** _what about you?_

 

 **FoxedIn:** _well, I took my bio test today. The one on microbiology and the evolution of things? The tips you gave me really helped.  Never did I think thinking of a paraplegic grandma would help me remember what type of cladogram I was looking at, but here we are and i knew what the cladogram was._

 

Minho smiled at his phone at the message his brother had sent. If there was one thing he was proud of, it was his bizarre was of remembering key study points.

 

 **GardenHoe:** _im glad you bassed, innie. I’m going to go ahead and go to bed now._

 **GardenHoe:** _try not to stay up too late studying, okay?_

 

 **FoxedIn:** _I promise to try! Good night, hyungie. I’ll message you again tomorrow._

 

 **GardenHoe:** _night night, Jeonginnie, don’t let the bed bugs bite._

_~~~~_

Jisung is a proud person. He learned it from one of his closest friends: Woojin. If there was someone who would never stray from his ideals, it was Woojin.

He remembered coming to college and meeting this kind, tall man who immediately took him under his wing. Woojin was a junior in college when Jisung met him, but that did nothing to deter the younger from integrating himself into the boy’s group of friends. Before the first semester was out, he had learned exactly what moral compass Woojin held himself to.

Always help others, even if you don’t think they deserve it. Be willing to welcome anyone into your care. And finally, love others as you love yourself. That’s why Woojin’s reaction to Minho was so odd.

Jisung could tell that the rest of his friends felt similarly, and Jisung took it upon himself to find out what was going on with his older friend.

Jisung woke up the next morning and (very determinedly) rolled out of bed to talk to Woojin. He put on one of his cleanest outfits and even partially styled his hair just so the older would see how serious he was.

Marching down the hall, Jisung rehearsed what he was going to say, but before he could aggressively knock on the door the way he wanted to, Woojin pulled it open, almost as if he was expecting the younger.

Jisung, pretending Woojin’s preparedness didn’t fluster him, brushed past him and strode to the desk chair already pulled up near the bed. “I see you were expecting me,” he snapped, not quite snooty, but pretty close to it.

“I felt like I needed to explain myself to you and try to figure out how to fix the mistakes I’ve made,” Woojin replied, easing himself onto the bed after handing Jisung a cup of coffee (prepared just the way he liked it - three shots of cream and one and a half tablespoons of sugar). “Do you mind listening before you give me your part?”

Jisung considered his friend, then looked into his mug, before nodding his head. “I guess you do owe an explanation for acting like an absolute douche and not the Woojinnie-hyung I know and love.”

Woojin laughed and leaned back against the wall. “Well before I can really explain my issue with Minho, I guess I should tell you a bit about my high school experience.

“You’ve probably figured it out, but I wasn’t very popular in high school. The choir kid who moved in a year before school lets out and everyone moves on? Everyone had their clicks, and I wasn’t too bothered by people and social situations to try to find a group to fit with.

“Then I met this kid from the dance team. He was two years younger than me, but he already looked like he had experienced twice as much life as I had. Despite how worn out he looked, he would still smile at me as I left the choir room and he left the dance hall next door.

“One day I saw him sitting at a table in the lunchroom by himself and, I don’t know why, but I went and I sat next to him. He looked up and fixed me with that same smile. When I asked him why he was alone, he said that his team had gone on a field trip but his family was short on money so he couldn’t go.

“I would sit with the kid every day. His name was Minho, just like your new friend. He told me about how he was the sole provider of income since his mom died and his dad hit the bottle. He would light up and tell me about his brilliant little brother who would join us on occasion when he wasn’t studying in the library. He was always willing to let me know what was going on in his life and I told him the same. I told him how I was living with my grandparents because they needed someone to take care of them, and I was already planning on going to school in the area for college, so my parents just sent me a year early. It was a nice friendship.

“Then I graduated, and he immediately cut off all ties. I would try texting him, but the messages would never go through. It’s been four years, but I still think about Minho.

“That’s partially why I can’t seem to act nice to your Minho. I see my Minho in him, this boy who had so many bad things happen to him, but he’s still willing to smile throughout it all. I think I feel guilty because I have absolutely _no idea_ what happened to my Minho. For all I know, that is him and Jeongin is dead.”

Woojin looked near tears at that point in his story and Jisung was slowly realizing exactly how much this Minho he had known affected him. “Hey, hyung I’m sure he’s fine-“

“What if that was my chance to help him? What if all I had to do was reach out and offer him a place to stay? What if I helped him raise money so he could go on trips? I could have done _so much_ for Minho, but I never did.” Woojin was trying, desperately, to get everything out, but the tears streaming down his face seemed to be making it difficult for him to talk. Jisung put his cup down and crawled over to where Woojin had curled in on himself.

“Hyung, hyung. You can’t do anything to change the past,” Jisung soothed quickly, wrapping his arms around the older. “But what you can do is fix the future,” he said as he patted Woojin’s head.

“You may not be able to do much for your Minho, but _our_ Minho is here now, and he needs a family. We can give him a home, hyung.” Feeling Woojin start to calm down, Jisung sat back and looked into his friend’s red eyes. “Everyone really wants to help him. Honestly? Minho-hyung is really talented. I was thinking of subtly training him to try for the full ride here, but I’d need your help.”

Hearing that Jisung had a plan for actually helping the homeless boy that _wasn’t_ just throwing money at him seemed to bewilder Woojin, but he still listened as Jisung explained.

“So Minho-hyung is already a really good dancer, so we don’t have to worry about that part of the audition. I have no idea if he can sing or rap or anything, but we do need to find out. The other thing that he does _really well_ is play the harmonica.” Woojin nodded as Jisung listed off Minho’s talents. He had known several of these things already, probably Chan’s loving rants that he got into when one of his “children” impressed him. “I want you to teach him to play the guitar, though, so that he can have a few instruments under his belt for the audition. Do you think you can try, Woojinnie-hyung?” Jisung asked, turning his puppy dog eyes on.

Woojin chuckled and reached out to ruffle Jisung’s hair. “Of course I can, if you can set up a time, I’ll try my best to get to know him a bit better and redeem myself.”

Grinning, Jisung then started poking the elder’s face. “So,” he teased, “did Chan really throw your phone into the sink?”

Cackling at his friends scoff, Jisung waited for Woojin’s quick, “no he just flew across the room and then launched my phone on the bed.” Jisung began laughing even more as he heard him mutter, “I swear he acts like I steal his firstborn the second I do something slightly offensive.”

As the two boys looked at each other, they dissolve into laughter and Jisung began to hope that everything really would be okay.

~~~~

** Minho Protection Squad **

 

_[MinhosHoe added Dad to the conversation]_

 

 **Proteccer:** _I see you’ve finally talked Wooj into loving Minho as much as the rest of us_

 

 **CornChip:** _I mean I don’t love him quite nearly as much as any of you._

 **CornChip:** _why am I here again?_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _binnie hyung I will not hesitate_

 

 **Mom:** _hi dear._

 **Mom:** _glad you could finaly join the sane side of the equation_

 

 **Dad:** _you CAN and you WILL sleep in uour own dorm if you don’t stop_

 

 **ELixer:** _HYUNJIIINNNNEEE mom And dar are fighting again :((((_

 

 **Proteccer:** _wow must suck to suck doesn’t it?_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _you would know wouldn’t you?_

 

 **Ataccer:** _one of these days ill manage to stay out of your idiotic conversations_

 

 **Proteccer:** _WOW MUST SUCK TO SUCK_

 

 **Ataccer:** _@proteccer last Halloween._

 **Ataccer:** _I WONT hesitate_

 

 **Proteccer:** _understood. Have a nice day_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _ANYWAYS now that we’re all here, Woojinnie-hyung is caught up so now we jut gotta start training minhohyunf_

 

 **CornChip:** _training for what?_

 

 **ELixer:** _cmon hyung even I know this one_

 **ELixer:** _for the Idol Scholsrship_

 

 **CornChip:** _I’m sorry????_

 **CornChip:** _the full ride only awarded to like 2 people for being good enough to be an idol???_

 **CornChip:** _were training g Minho for THAT_

 

 **Proteccer:** _yes, binnie, keep up._

 

 **ELixer:** _anyways we need people to go convince Minho to take lessons eith woojinnie_

 **ELixer:** _I nominate binnie and Minnie_

 

 **Ataccer:** _literally ehy_

 

 **CornChip:** _seconded?_

 

 **Mom:** _I agree. Good luck boys_

 

 **Dad:** _wow I’m living for this democrwcy_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _trust me evrrybody else is too_

 

_~~~~_

Minho woke up to feel the sun beaming down on his face and a content grin stretched across his face before he felt practically every bone in his spine crack from the way he had curled into his bench.

He groaned and pulled his feet down so he could sit up and pretend everything about the bench was fine. _Because it was._

Feeling a shadow cross his face, Minho flinched as he opened his eyes, desperately hoping the police hadn’t come to finally kick him out of the park. Looking up, he saw Seungmin and the boy with the pointy chin from the movie at Jisung’s just two nights ago.

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Minho coughed to break the awkward silence that was growing more and more prominent between the trio. “Well,” he began, “welcome to my humble abode.”

Pointy Chin’s eyes widened and he looked around the park. “I knew you were homeless, but for some reason, it didn’t register that…”

“That he doesn’t have a home?” Seungmin finished for him, giving Pointy Chin a glare. “What else could it _possibly_ mean, Binnie-hyung?”

Before the two could start bickering, they were interrupted by a soft giggle from Minho. _When was the last time I laughed like that?_ He thought to himself, just as surprised as the boys in front of him.

“Ah, yeah, we came here with official business.” Seungmin suddenly straightened, putting on what Minho assumed to be his “serious face”.

Next to him, the shorter boy looked at Seungmin before turning back to Minho. “Well I don’t know what he’s doing, but my name is Seo Changbin. 21 years old. It’s nice to meet you,” he said as he extended his hand before realizing what exactly he was doing and pulling his hand back to bow right as Minho reached for his hand. Minho squinted at Changbin before standing to give him a small bow and then bowing to Seungmin again _because why not? It’s already awkward enough._

Seungmin seemed to come out of his “serious mode” in order to quickly bow back to Minho and then they stood and looked at each other, waiting for one of the other two to talk.

“Well anyways-“ Changbin began just as Seungmin said, “So we’re here to-“. They both turned and looked at the other, before sadly chuckling.

“Why didn’t they just send the sugar babies? They would have done such a better job at this.” Seungmin groaned and turned back to an amused Minho.

“What we’re _trying_ to say,” Changbin said, holding up his hand so Seungmin wouldn’t begin talking again, too. “Is that Jisung has got it in his mind that you could benefit from learning to sing and play the guitar for your busking.”

Minho sat back down and looked at the shorter boy with a thoughtful expression. “So you’re telling me Jisung doesn’t think I’m good enough at busking to gain enough money so he’s recruiting friends to train me now?”

Seungmin began violently shaking his head and crouched down in front of Minho. “That’s not it at all! We, all of us, really, want you to be as comfortable as possible. We know that you’re independent — especially if what Hyunijn said is true about the way you _snatched_ the BB Cream out of his hand to apply it yourself instead of letting him touch your face — and so we’re trying to help you maintain your independence but give you more ways to make money.” He turned and glared at his friend, “Changbin is just _shit_ at explaining things, apparently.”

Minho snorted softly and placed his hand over Seungmin’s (which had gotten to his knee at some point, not sure when though) and gave it a gentle pat. “We only met, what, two or three days ago? Why are you all so invested in helping me?”

Hearing Changbin shift above him, he looked to see the shorter boy moving to sit beside him on the bench. “Listen,” he said, “you’ve probably realized that my friends are a pretty extroverted group.” At Minho’s nod, he continued, now smiling softly, “When they saw you, they saw someone calling out for a friend and they naturally answered. I know we, personally, haven’t talked much, but I’ve heard so much about you from Jinnie and Lixie, it’s honestly almost annoying. They already love you so much and, if given the chance, they would probably kidnap you and force you to live in their dorm if Chan doesn’t get to you first.”

“But,” Minho protested (again, _why_ can’t he just accept people want to help him?), “you’ve still only known me for _less than two days.”_

“Absolutely irrelevant,” Seungmin scoffed, standing up. “You’ve been adopted, please get used to seeing all of us around more often.” Minho laughed softly again because his coworker (technically coworker? Does it count if he’s not actually paid to work there?) had a very dry sense of humor.

“And please,” Changbin chimed in, “just accept the lessons, or Chan will send in the much more aggressive persuaders. I would hate to see what Jinnie and Sungie would do to get you to go.”

“No you wouldn’t, hyung,” Seungmin quipped, stepping over to hit him in the head. “You’d probably get way too hot and bothered watching Hyunjin shove Minho into a body bag than any sane person would.”

Smirking at the way both 21 year olds began choking, he held hands out to pull them up. “Well, since we’re here, let’s go get some churros. I’ll pay because I’ve got that job at the bakery so I’m _rolling_ in dough.”

Minho snorted as he was pulled up and muttered, “literally,” under his breath, then ducked to avoid the palm aimed at his head.

Straightening up, he strode in front of the two friends and looked behind him with a light smirk. “Follow me, I’ll show you a churro stand that will absolutely change your life.”

~~~~

Jisung was an absolute wreck. Changbin and Seungmin had reported nothing back to the group chat. Minho hadn’t commented anything in the chat Hyunjin added him to, either.

He sat down and looked at his song book. _I thought I was supposed to be a good writer. Why can I think of absolutely nothing to express what I need to say right now?_

He looked at his phone again, then stood up and walked to the door, planning on going to the park and seeing what was happening. Before he could walk out the door, he turned back around and ran to his bed. He threw himself on it and opened Instagram, checking to see if anyone was active or if they had posted anything he cared about.

Scrolling, he saw random posts from kids in his comp classes and a few photography accounts he followed. He saw that a random kpop group was preparing for a comeback and remembered to check it out closer to the drop to see what the song would be like. Finally seeing the check telling him he was caught up on his feed, he went to check his stories. Seeing a new story from Changbin, he quickly clicked on it to see a picture of a cat. _God dammit, Changbin._

Going onto the next post he saw a picture of a churro stand and Jisung squinted bewilderedly at his phone, replying to the story with a, “ _Whatever happened to TALKING TO MINHO?????”_

Giving up on his fellow producer, he scrolled through his other friend’s stories, checking out Chan’s supposed beat spoiler that Jisung _knew_ was going to changed at least four times and would sound nothing like what he was pretending he was happy with now.

Refreshing his feed in the desperate hope that something else had been posted in the five minutes it took him to look through everything, Jisung was shocked to see a story from Seungmin had been added.

Clicking on it, he nearly dropped the phone when he saw a laughing Minho pointing a… _churro?_

Yes, he saw correctly. He saw a laughing Minho pointing a churro at a laughing Changbin who helplessly held his hands up.

The next thing posted was a video of Minho singing a few bars of Spring Day into his churro before taking a large bite, and Changbin picked up where Minho left off while Seungmin laughed behind the camera.

Jisung, on the other hand, was not laughing.

He reloaded the story and smiled briefly at the laughing Minho — he should really smile more, he’s beautiful — and swiped to the video. Closing his eyes, he turned the volume up on his phone and listened to Minho _effortlessly_ sing the chorus before Changbin’s loud voice cut the other off.

_If he can sing like that, what the actual hell is he not doing at some idol company? The Big 3 would snatch him up in a heartbeat._

Ignoring the “whipped” that Changbin had shot his way in lieu of a response, Jisung put his phone back down and turned back to his song book.

Despite how quickly their friendship had progressed, Jisung would willingly call Minho one of his close friends, even though he hardly knew anything about him. Minho had that personality that made others want to pay attention to him and be around him, yet he squashed it down in order to appear aloof. It was probably what he had learned to do on the streets, but Jisung wished he would let a few of his barriers down as they continued to grow closer.

With thoughts of Minho drifting through his mind, Jisung put his pen to the paper and wrote a song about a boy who would never give up. He tried to tell the story of a fighter: someone who, even faced with the most impossible odds, would still go into the fight knowing they would win.

Jisung had the lyrics written in less than an hour and, sitting back, he shot a quick message to his producing friends.

** Spicy Salsa **

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _so I’ve written another song_

 **HanSquirrel:** _one of y’all wanna go wild and help me figure out the not lyrics?_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _whipped culture is seeing a picture of your crush and immediately busting out a whole song_

 

 **BangBang:** _well youd know then_

 **BangBang:** _souldnt you, binnie?_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _the not lurics, you say?_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _I mean TECHNICALLY I said not lYrics_

 **HanSquirrel:** _but yeah_

 **HanSquirrel:** _wanna ham smthing out w me_

 

 **BangBang:** _always. Give me a hot minute and I’ll be over_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _I’ll be there as soon as I escort Han’s bf back to his bench._

 **Dark_Binnie:** _and then buy him a pillor Bc my back hurts LOOKING at him sleep_

 

 **BangBang:** _bin if he’s not stsying st your dorm the next couple of days, I will NOT hesitate to send Jisung your thirst tweets about a certain dancer_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _WHY DO YOU ALL HAVE TEA ON ME THIS IS HARASSMENT_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _@BangBang sharing is caring_

 **HanSquirrel:** _don’t be a homophobe_

 

 **Dark_Binnie:** _gdi I’ll be home in 15_

 **Dark_Binnie:** _and @HanSquirrel just Bc you said that guess you’re not fonna learn what ur bf said abt the guitar lessons_

 

 **HanSquirrel:** _wait_

 **HanSquirrel:** _wait @Dark_Binnie_

 **HanSquirrel:** _this is hkmophoic plz_

 **HanSquirrel:** _guys?_

 **HanSquirrel:** _I need better friends gdi_

 

_~~~~_

Minho will admit, he was honestly scared to agree to the guitar lesson. However, if there was a chance that playing the guitar could help get him enough money to get off the street, then he was going to take any chance he could.

Seungmin grinned ear to ear when Minho agreed to the lesson on the way back to his bench. As he reached the park and began to part ways, however, Changbin suddenly wrapped an arm around his waist and tugged him gruffly toward a confused Seungmin.

The two exchanged a look over his head and began to chuckle as they heard the shorter male mutter under his breath about “interfering, overprotective friends who need to learn to keep secrets to themselves.”

Figuring Minho had gotten an unwilling (and probably blackmailed) roommate for the next night at least, he trailed behind the boys as they talked to him about their classes.

Seungmin complained about the almost religious vocal warmups the choir instructor would make them do before every song and performance that they “ever do _ever”_ and Changbin scoffed, told the other that was nothing, and then proceeded to berate his theory professor who had them analyzing current kpop songs looking for the same modes and techniques the classical musicians would use.

Minho, while he couldn’t relate, shared his own anecdotes about his Taemin and his buddies. Changbin almost collapsed on the way back to campus hearing about the time Minho had walked into the camp they had been sharing to see his friend crouched on the ground, staring intently at a trail of ants before picking one up, studying it, and popping it into his mouth. If that hadn’t made the boys laugh, Minho’s expression as he told the story sold every second of it.

Once they reached the dorm doors, Changbin asked if Seungmin could hang out with Minho for a bit before he took him to his dorm. Apparently, Jisung was threatening bodily harm if the boy didn’t help him produce a song in the next 5 minutes.

Seungmin agreed and the two spent the next 20 minutes wandering around the campus until they stumbled on the dance hall. Well, stumbled may not have been the right word, Minho learned as they went in to be greeted by his… _sugar brothers? I’m pretty sure that’s what they dubbed us._

Regardless of their title, Hyunjin and Felix greeted the two boys with open (and _sweaty)_ arms. Minho grinned as they invited him to help choreograph something they were working on for a showcase that _apparently_ had a third member who couldn’t join them.

Happy to dance, Minho didn’t even consider how suspicious it was and he dropped his bag on the floor and went over to the duo only to run back to his bag a second later and pull out his phone. “Do you have a place I can charge this? Your messages kill my battery.” Minho complained as he help up the dead device. Seungmin grabbed the phone and, after examining it like it was some ancient artifact, he asked for the charger and walked away muttering something about “getting the poor boy a better phone before he died with it.” _Whatever_ that _meant._

Moving back to his “brothers” he did some light stretches and began to focus on what the two had already come up with.

Apparently, they wanted to showcase their different styles of dancing. They said Chan and Jisung were working on a portion for two of them (apparently Changbin has already finished Hyunjin’s third of the song) and so they wanted to really focus on what they currently had music for before they roughly mapped out the rest of the choreo.

Minho asked to listen to the portion of music they had, and when Minho heard it, he was surprised at how well it matched the dancer’s moves. It had a light intro that reminded him of a butterfly flapping its wings, and then a very smooth bass cut in before the music faded out about 20 seconds later. Despite being short, Minho knee they could fit _exactly_ what Hyunjin’s style was into it.

The trio went back to the center of the room and Minho shot a worried glance at Seungmin, but he was completely preoccupied with earbuds in, humming along to whatever he had playing as he looked at sheet music.

Minho focused back in on the two boys and they began working through the high and low points of the dance. Connecting the moves and figuring out a sensual ripple or two, the boys worked for an hour and a half before they were _rudely_ interrupted by Jisung storming into the hall.

“You assholes rap, right?” He asked with no fanfare. Based on the lack of response from the two other dancers, this was normal for a producing Jisung.

“What do you need this time?” Felix groaned as he eased down to the hardwood floor. “We were in the middle of cleaning up Hyunjin’s part of the showcase.”

“First of all, my part is _perfectly_ clean. We were cleaning up _your_ part of my part.” Hyunjin snipped as he waddled over to Jisung. Minho could understand, his feet felt like they were being sawed off, toe by toe, with a butter knife. “Get it right, bitch.”

Ignoring the discourse in the dance line, Minho turned to Jisung with a patronizing smile and replied, “Yes Sungie, I’m sure at least one of them raps. What do you need?”

Jisung locked in on Minho like a heat seeking missile, “You responded first so you go first.” The boy practically _growled_ at Minho as he prowled over and shoved the notebook in his face. “I need to hear it from someone who’s not me or Chan or Changbin before I go _mad.”_

Minho grabbed the notebook and looked over the lyrics and hummed a little as he thought, ignoring the way Jisung began pacing and whining about how the drop didn’t work right because the “ _god damn intro just won’t sound right_.”

Seeing a note drawn next to one of the lines reading “drop”, Minho figures that was where Jisung was having issues getting. The lyrics weren’t anything _bad_ either.

“Sungie?” He called, getting the producers attention. At the boy’s sharp look, he flinched back a bit, but plowed forward. “How does the beginning sound?”

Jisung stared at him, face completely blank for a few seconds, before he pulled phone out and fumbled for the track. Minho chuckled a bit as the intro played, it sounded similar to Hyunjin’s dance intro. At least he could figure out who worked on that line. When the bass entered the mix, Minho found exactly where in the music the rap was supposed to hit. It reminded him of the intro to a karaoke song that Woojin did the _one time_ they went to a karaoke house together back in high school.  

Nervous, he asked Jisung to play it one more time and mouthed along with the lines. He didn’t notice the intense focus on his face, or the focus of the others as they watched him absorb and familiarize himself with the words.

When he glanced up, Felix would tell him later that Minho’s stare could have bored a hole in the glass with how intense it was. “Play it one more time,” he requested, still maintaining the polite tone that he always used around the boys.

It took Jisung a few seconds, Minho figured he just had to rewind, but when the ditty played through the phone speaker, Minho relaxed and put a playful smirk on his face. “Aaahhh,” he began, almost as if checking the mic, “hello?”

Completely absorbed in his character, he didn’t notice the shocked look pass over the younger boys’ faces as they heard his laid back attitude. It was completely different from the boy’s speech they had heard before and it _certainly_ wasn’t what any of the producers imagined for the introduction.

“I’m a young man who can fly anywhere,” he announced, voice still carefree but with a bit more bite to it. “But that _doesn’t_ make me a runaway youth.” Hearing his voice get more intense as the track slightly lightened up allowed for a contrast that hinted at what _was_ coming, Minho was honestly most excited about the, “everybody, attention!” That he almost growled before continuing when the bass backing him.

Once he finished the words on the paper, he closed his eyes and just let the music flow over him until it suddenly cut off. Glancing up, he saw three gaping figures focused on him. Behind him, he heard Seungmin give off a, “hmmmm,” before he went back to whatever he was working on.

The dancers and producer looked at eachother, then back at the homeless boy. “That,” Felix began, “was-“

“Absolutely amazing.” Jisung interrupted, seemingly getting control of his motor abilities back. “You’re coming with me I need that recorded like… yesterday.” Minho barely had time to protest as he was dragged from the hall. He heard Seungmin faintly reassure him that he’d get his bag to him in Changbin’s room, and he heard Hyunjin cackle and tell him to have fun before the noise was cut off by the door closing.

 _Well,_ he thought to himself, _I hope this means I did okay?_

_~~~~_

Jisung was in no mood to be trifled with. If he heard Chan’s bloody Australian accent cry out “hello!” Again, he was _going_ to make someone face say hello to his fist. _No violence intended, of course._

“I’m going to the backup,” he snipped at his friends before striding out of his room, ignoring the sighs that he left in his wake.

As he made his way to the dance hall, he also ignored the concerned glances random students shot him and he _definitely_ ignored the annoying quips that his friends had for him after his _very obvious_ rhetorical question.

When Minho gave him that polite smile that Jisung was beginning to think was just a reflex around him and his friends, he almost snapped. Shoving his notes in Minho’s face, he asked the dancer to rap. _Not his nicest moment, but he’s stressed._

After hearing the boy, Jisung had the second nicest moment of his day by promptly grabbing the dancer and _dragging him out of the room._

 _Jisung!_ What _are you doing?_ Leading the bewildered boy back to his dorm, Jisung sat him on the bed, turned to his friends, and gruffly declared, “I’ve found the intro.”

Ignoring the bemused looks shot his way, he pulled the mic out and turned to Minho, only then noticing the slightly terrified expression on his face.

_Oh my god, I’m an awful person._

_“_ Hey, hey hyung.” Jisung suddenly addressed Minho, drawing the panicked gaze toward him. “It’s fine! You’re here because you did super good in the dance hall. If you don’t want to, you don’t _have_ to record anything.” He gave a dry chuckle and glanced over to his co-producers. “These two can tell you exactly how blunt I get when producing.”

“Oh my _god_ , it’s absolute insanity,” Changbin whined from his perch on the sofa. “One time he made me repeat the sound “grrrr” almost 40 times just to make sure he “had enough variations,””.

“Jisung goes insane,” Chan agreed from where he was sprawled across the floor. “But if he thinks you did good at the verse, then you must have been amazing. He hardly ever lets us record after just hearing it. How many times did he make you repeat the verse?”

Minho glanced at the boys, relaxing at their genuinely curious expressions. “Well I’m really the one who made him repeat things. He played the song 3 times and I rapped the third time, then he dragged me out of the dance hall.” At the stunned look on the boys’ faces, Jisung flinched, knowing _exactly_ what was coming.

Changbin suddenly began having a _ferocious_ coughing attack and Jisung sighed at the smattered, “whipped,” throughout the fit. _Asshole._

“Well,” Chan said, breaking out of whatever daze he had been in, “then I guess it’s good!” He shot a brief glance at Jisung and, seeing him nod, asked, “Do you mind doing it one more time for us before we shove a mic in your face?”

Minho complied and Jisung got the music ready, looking forward to hearing the faux confidence Minho exuded when he did the introduction. _Or,_ his traitorous mind whispered, _maybe the confidence is what he’s really like, and the shyness is faked. Be still my beating heart._

Hitting play, Jisung grinned at the fun tinkle of notes at the beginning, and his grin grew even more when he saw the way his friends’ eyes widened as Minho read the words off the page. _Yeah, it wasn’t a fluke._

When Minho finished, he immediately shrank in on himself, only to glance up at the applause that came from Chan. “Wow, man, that was brilliant!” He cheered.

Changbin gave Minho a thumbs up from the sofa before glaring at Jisung, “You utter _asshole,”_ he snarled.

Jisung looked around the room before pointing at himself.

“ _Yes,_ you,” Changbin snapped. “We each did the intro like that three different times, even _you_ did it, but we didn’t “do it right” enough for you?”

Jisung immediately straightened to defend himself, “Hyung, our voices just didn’t _match_ it right! And you can’t deny that Minho’s voice fits the introduction perfectly.”

At Changbin’s sigh of defeat to Jisung’s perfectly sound logic, Jisung grinned and turned back to Minho, “Well then,” he exclaimed. “If you’re ready, we can record this and you can go back to your dancing!”

 _I love how things end up working out,_ he thought as Chan immediately started berating him for taking Minho away from his dance practice. _I hope they keep working out like this._

_~~~~_

A week passed, Minho was slowly worked into the dance line and became more familiar with Changbin and Seungmin. Chan had been nonexistent, apparently, one of his classes had given him one of the biggest assignments of the year and only had a month to get it done. The elder was stressed, which seemed understandable to Minho, even if he couldn’t relate.

That’s why, Saturday morning, the first day of his guitar lessons (with a mysterious instructor, Jisung was thrilled, but Minho was apprehensive), Minho found himself stress cooking pancakes.

This was a bad habit that Minho knew made Jeongin very happy because, apparently, his breakfasts were, in the words of his brother, “literal ambrosia.”

So, he got himself out of Seungmin’s spare bed that morning and crept out to find the supplies he needed for classic American pancakes.

After he got the goods, he snuck back up to Jisung’s room, knowing the boy had a pan and mini stove he could use ( _and_ nothing wakes Jisung up, except Jisung. Which proved to be detrimental to Minho’s sanity). Minho sat down next to a bowl and pulled the eggs he had stashed in Jisung’s fridge out. Mixing the ingredients together, he quickly heated and cooked a neat stack of flapjacks to split among his friends. The word seemed odd to give to the group that welcomed him so openly, but that’s what the boys were: friends.

Minho was careful to set aside two for Chan, and then sent a message to their group chat saying, “Come to Jisung’s if you want food.”

Based on the series of exclamation marks and emojis that came from the other members, Jisung would have a full room very soon. Minho smiled and grabbed 5 other plates, making food for everybody else. Right as he finished laying plates about the room for the members of his group to find as they trickled in. First was Seungmin and Hyunjin, which was no surprise because Seungmin was a morning person and Hyunjin like to cuddle first thing in the morning. Minho wished he could claim that this _hasn’t_ affected him, but having Hyunjin as a temporary neighbor proved terrifying when you’re jerked from sleep by someone wrapping every limb they own around your torso. Minho also wished he could claim that he _didn’t_ throw Hyunjin to the floor seconds later, but some memories just deserve to be left in the past.

After the neighbors came in, Felix dragged himself through the door, just wearing boxers and a sweatshirt. Minho laughed at the tired boy as he came and curled against Minho, whining to him about how he makes food way too early for the boy’s sleep schedule to approve.

Finally, Chan was pulled into the room on the arm of a chipper Woojin. Minho blinked at the man as he placed Chan on Jisung’s bed (Jisung still in it) and asked Minho if the plates were divvied up any certain way. Considering the last time the two had talked, almost a week ago in the group chat when Woojin accused Minho of stealing his Tupperware, Minho was genuinely surprised to even be acknowledged by the other. However, Minho didn’t let that affect him for long, and he put on his best “dealing with people you’re not sure how to approach” face and gave him Chan’s plate and the plate he had reserved for himself. _It would be fine,_ he thought, watching Chan sit up from where he had curled next to Jisung. _I’ve gone without breakfast plenty times before. I’ll just make something with the left over batter._

Making up his mind, Minho turned and cranked the mini stove back on and scraped the bowl to get the remaining batter in the pan. He hummed quietly to himself as he did so, listening to the soft clacks of silverware hitting plates as people at the breakfast he made.

Minho stiffened as he felt someone drape themself over his back and he heard a tired shuffle as the person asked him, “What are you doing, hyung?” Smiling at Jisung’s sleepy question, Minho turned his face slightly to look at the younger, half-awake boy. “I’m making another pancake because I wasn’t expecting Woojin-ssi to join us. It’s almost done, though, Jisungie.” He reaches over and pulled up a plate with one of his fluffier pancakes on it, drizzled in syrup the way he knew the younger liked.

Minho checked on his noticeably smaller pancake before sliding it out of the pan and onto a spare lid that Jisung just had lying around. _Hey, whatever works, works._ He then grabbed a knife and fork and cut a slice of Jisung’s pancake before holding it up to where he assumed Jisung’s mouth to be. Feeling the boy grab the bite, he brought the fork down and began cutting more as Jisung chewed.

He continued to feed the younger until about half the pancake was gone and the two finally noticed the silence that had overcome the room. Minho glanced over to see everyone looking them in varying states of disbelief. Well, everyone except Chan. He had his phone out and was openly cooing at the pair as they ate. Minho smiled softly and went to get another bite for Jisung, only to feel to boy detach and move to sit beside him instead.

When Minho gave him a confused look, Jisung shyly smiled and said, “This way you can eat, too.” The elder smiled and ruffled Jisung’s hair before turning to his own food.

~~~~

Minho was thankful to say that the rest of breakfast passed without a hitch. When everyone was done, Woojin put on a leader voice and directed everyone to start cleaning. Minho _tried_ to help, but at least three different people pushed him onto the bed three different times, so he figured he should just stay there.

While he waited for everyone to clean, he check his phone and saw a message from Jeongin, telling him that his break was coming up, but that also meant finals. Minho reassured the younger that he would do absolutely fine and that he had nothing to worry about. For some reason, Minho’s words always seemed to ease Jeongin’s worries exponentially, so he was _glad_ the younger would tell him things like that. It made him feel useful to help ease his little brother’s mind. _It wasn’t like there was much he could do to help him any other way._

Minho didn’t allow those thoughts to stay for long, and he quickly brushed them aside to notice the room had been cleaned, and everyone had slowly drifted out except for Woojin and Chan.

Woojin smiled at Minho and told him that he would see later for the lesson, and it didn’t quite click in his head until after the older boys had left, but then Minho jerked up, startling a whine out of Jisung who had, at some point, curled up next to him.

“Sungie,” Minho began worriedly. “Is Woojin-ssi my guitar teacher?”

“Hmm?” The younger questioned before rolling to look up at him. “Yeah, Woojinnie-hyung is like… the only one good enough to actually teach someone to play.”

“Oh,” the older replied, quite brilliantly. _Well, this will either go really well, or go absolutely awful. There is_ no _in-between._

_~~~~_

**Woojin-ssi:** _hey, I’m running a few minutes late. Just meet me outside the dorm hall and we’ll get to the music hall_

 

 **Minho:** _alright. See you soon!_

 

Minho stared at his phone for a few more seconds before rolling out of Jisung’s bed and grabbing his shoes. He began to leave the dorm, but paused and looked at his bag. Moving over to it, he looked inside and smiled at the way it had flushed out. He had assorted candy bars and one of Felix’s shoes stashed for whatever reason. Reaching down and grabbing a bag of chips, he left them out for Jisung for when he woke up and then finally left the dorm and made his way down to the main doors.

He waited for a few minutes, fiddling on his phone (that hadn’t been dead the past couple of days because he could charge it _nightly)_ , and glancing up every time the door opened.

When Woojin finally came through the door, Minho wasn’t sure if what he felt was relief or dread. He gave a small smile to the older boy, and received a nod and grin in return.

“Well,” Woojin said, moving down the stairs. “If you’re ready, let’s head out.” Minho quickly followed behind the older boy, and the two walked to the music hall in complete silence.

 _This is so awkward,_ Minho thought, looking everywhere but _at_ Woojin. _If I was with literally anyone else, they would probably have talked my ear off by now._

Minho was glad to say they made it to the music hall in one piece. However, instead of going inside to get instruments (as one would _assume_ would be needed to learn to play), Woojin led them over to a grassy area a little to the side of the hall.

Sitting down, he patted the grass next to him, and Minho looked at him for a second before easing himself down, as well. “I bet you’re wondering why we aren’t inside.” Woojin began, looking over to see Minho give a small nod. Smiling, Woojin explained, “I don’t think we’re going to get anything done if we can’t get over this rift I made between us. So we’re here so I can explain myself, and so you can tell me about yourself and how you ended up where you are.”

Woojin turned and looked at Minho, before widening his eyes and sitting up, almost frantically. “That is if you want to!” He reassured the younger. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t feel up to it! In fact, if you just want to listen to me that’s fine.”

Woojin took a deep breath, and began. “I guess the best way to explain it is to say I felt guilty…”

Minho listened to Woojin’s story. He learned about the friend he lost four years ago who just severed all ties once he graduated. He listened to Woojin explain the absolute terror he had when he couldn’t connect to his younger friend. Minho listened to everything Woojin had to say, and by the end he was near tears.

When Woojin finished, Minho looked at the older and, in the steadiest voice he could, he began telling a story he hadn’t told anyone else before. “In my second year of high school, my mom died.” It was blunt, he knew it, but it was the only way he knew to explain.

“She had terminal cancer and we lost her in the first semester. My dad didn’t take it too well, he started drinking not even a month after her funeral. My little brother was absolutely _devastated,_ but he devoted his study to becoming a doctor after we lost her.

“Things has been looking good for me, I was lined up to go to a smaller college in Busan that specialized in dance and dance instruction and I had plans to open a studio once I graduated. Through my second year, we finalized a lot of things and I was set to go after graduation. We had all the money we needed and I thought our family was going to make it through.

“Then in third year, my father stopped paying the phone bill. I was able to put enough aside to pay off the rest of the money to keep our phones, but not the numbers. They were essentially iPods, and I lost contact with a lot of my friends because, before we lost our numbers, that’s the only way I’d talk with them.

“Then, my last year of high school came. I thought everything was still going to be fine, I was still on track for Busan, my brother’s grades were up and he was getting looks from some colleges around Seoul and Daegu.

“The second semester, I was almost done, almost out, my father lost his job. He hadn’t been making the shifts that he needed to make because he- he was still completely _wasted_ when the morning would come.” Minho had to pause after that, he collected himself before he continued. If he had looked up, he would have noticed Woojin staring at him as if he was seeing him for the first time in years.

“I took an off year after I graduated. I couldn’t move away when my dad only had a part time job and his paychecks were devoted to his drinking. By some miracle of God, we kept barely making the house payments. Innie tested into this _amazing_ medical program and he had a year left. Looking back on it now, I should be grateful that mom pushed him to test up in middle school, we got out that much easier.

“I took up two jobs and did some street dancing to keep myself sharp for an audition after I could get Innie away from dad.

“Finally my brother graduated, I was preparing to move to Busan, and he was following me to a school with a really good pre med program. Tuition was high, but I had enough saved away that I could give him half of my tuition money. My school wasn’t too expensive, I could have easily made it two years with what I had left. Things were looking up, then they weren’t. Our father got arrested for owing the bar an excessive bill, loitering, and fighting the bartender. I threw the rest of my tuition money at a lawyer for him, I dropped out of school.

“Dad is in jail for another 6 years, I think. When we lost what meager money he provided for the payments, they took possession of the house. I lived with a friend for a while, but eventually they kicked me out.

“By some cruel turn of fate, I lost both of my jobs and I turned my dance team away in order to make more money busking. I got my harmonica that dad had given me and hit the streets. I met some guys, and I’d been surviving for… almost half a year I think. Then I met your friends, and here I am.”

He gave Woojin a sad smile and looked over at him, seeing the tears slowly roll down the older’s face.

“You’re my Minho, aren’t you?” He asked. _Ah,_ Minho smiled and nodded, and he was nearly tackled by the aggressive hug Woojin launched at him. _The million dollar question._

Minho hugged Woojin back, and, despite how cheesy it sounded, his hug felt like coming home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the whole MinJin redemption arc. I’m sorry Wooj was an asshole at the beginning of it, but I hope the reasons get across with this chapter! 
> 
> We finally have some backstory for Minho that goes a bit more in depth! Now that the 8 guys are friends, get ready for some fun plotting and shenanigans to finally get Minho completely off the streets!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated. I’ve been writing a lot because we had a long car trip, but I’m on vacation now so there probably won’t be a post for the next few days (unless I get bored). Hope y’all like this slightly longer chapter to make up for it!
> 
> Find me on [twt](https://twitter.com/2minlix)! <3


	4. Thank god woojinnie hyung is here to be my impulse control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chat names are the same as the previous chapters. I’m really lazy so check 3 if you can’t remember who someone is

**WE ARE FAMILY**

**Hyundsome:** _ YALL YALL OMG _

 

_ [Hyundsome changed MustProtecc’s name to BruceLeeMinho] _

 

**YeetLix:** _ I swear he almost killed me oh my gof _

 

**Woojout:** _ WHAT did Minho do? _

 

**YeetLix:** _ ohdear _

 

_ [YeetLix changed Woojout’s name to WeeWoo] _

 

**CBing:** _ I swear on all that is good on this plante Felix almost getting murdered by Minho was th best part of my hda  _

**CBing:** _ day* wth _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ idk why y’all are reacting like this _

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ he attacked me first _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ NO THATS NOT THE POINT _

**Hyundsome:** _ YOU HANDED HIM HIS ASS ON A SLIVER PLATTER  _

 

**Chrispy:** _ can someone plz hust explain what happened??? _

 

**YeetLix:** _ okay so the day is nice and beautiful  _

**YeetLix:** _ jinnie bets me like a pizza or smthing that I can take some crackers out of minho’s bag without mih noticing _

**YeetLix:** _ I say bring it on and go to the bag _

**YeetLix:** _ and my wrist is almost snapped Bc my man said NOPE  _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ okay my turn _

**Hyundsome:** _ so anyways Lix looks up at Minho with this stupid look on his face Bc he’s stupid  _

**Hyundsome:** _ and Minho kinda just,,, yanks him away and lixie is having absolutely none of that _

 

**CBing:** _ so my man does that one kungfu move to free himself and goes whole karate kid mode _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ that’s not what happened?? _

 

**YeetLix:** _ actually shut up I almost lost my life _

 

**WeeWoo:** _ was tht it? Min grabbed Lix’s arm? _

 

**Chrispy:** _ I know y’all tent to overreact but is this it? _

 

**CBing:** _ bitch no sit the hell down I’m not down yet _

**CBing:** _ so anyways there me and jinnie are _

**CBing:** _ barbecue sauce on our tiddies  _

 

**WeeWoo:** _ bin even I know that meme is dead _

 

**CBing:** _ BARBECUE SAYCE ON OUR TIDDIES _

**CBing:** _ and lixie does the finger taunt thingy and min kind of just looks at him _

**CBing:** _ raises an eyebrow _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ and then he starts LAYING INTO HIM _

**Hyundsome:** _ it was absolutely BRUTAL omg _

 

**YeetLix:** _ I was barely keeping up and we all know I’m like an amazing blackbelt and stuff so it should be nothing _

**YeetLix:** _ but I’m being murdered _

 

**MinnieMouse:** _ oh my god _

**MinnieMouse:** _ the ONE time I have a class I miss lix being destroyed? _

**MinnieMouse:** _ I’m skipping every class from now on someone stop me _

 

**WeeWoo:** _ seubgmin no _

**WeeWoo:** _ seungmin* _

 

**MinnieMouse:** _ thank god woojinnie hyung is here to be my impluse control _

 

**Chrispy:** _ hey _

**Chrispy:** _ @ everyone remember how changbin was whipped and got jinnie’s part done for the danceracha thing already? _

 

**YeetLix:** _ wbk _

 

**CBing:** _ I s2g I need better friends _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ yeah and it sounds amazing!!!!! _

**Hyundsome:** _ what abt it? _

 

**CBing:** _ oh- _

 

**Chrispy:** _ anyways since me and Han are out here being the most lazy assholes ever, we just got around to making the other two tracks _

**Chrispy:** _ and so I’m here in the studio  _

 

**WeeWoo:** _ you’re in my room. I’m here too stop trying to sound cool  _

 

**Chrispy:** _ yes. Our STUDIO and jisung is staring at his phone with this broken look on his face _

**Chrispy:** _ it’s high key hilarious _

 

**HeSings:** _ hey Minho hyung? _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ yeah, sung? _

 

**HeSings:** _ when did you learn to fight? _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ well I learned it on the street  _

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ in the place I lived before my bench, we had rules that we had to follow.  _

 

**HeSings:** _ wait don’t wear your fingers out _

**HeSings:** _ where are you now? _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ I’m with everyone else at Breaking Bread? _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ yeah he was so badass _

**Hyundsome:** _ my man just went into the office and came out with an apron and he’s been icing cookies for us _

 

**YeetLix:** _ not sure why he’s allowed on his phone but I’m not questioning it Bc those cookies look amazing _

 

**WeeWoo:** _ jisung wants me to let y’all know that we’ll be there in five.  _

**WeeWoo:** _ Chan wants Minho to know that this is all his fault _

 

**CBing:** _ Minho wants Chan go know he doesn’t care _

**CBing:** _ and that if you’re not there in the next ten minutes you don’t get a cookie _

 

_ ~~~~ _

Jisung would be ashamed to admit he’s been running to Minho’s side far more that he would have expected in the past week. Still, there he was, dragging Chan and Woojin to the bakery just off campus. They piled through the doors to see Seungmin standing behind the counter while the other members of their group sat at a couple of round tables pushed together in the back of the room. 

Woojin smiled and went to sit in the seat beside Minho, completely ignoring the dry chuckles that erupted at Jisung’s betrayed face. Minho grinned and waved at Jisung and Chan, then gestured to the two empty chairs across from him. Jisung pouted, but sat down and tried his best to curl into Chan’s side, glaring at Woojin.

The group of 7 chatted for a bit while Minho fiddled with his phone, probably texting his brother, and Seungmin finished the rest of his shift. Once their youngest joined them, everyone slowly quieted down and turned to look at Minho, who was oblivious to the attention turned his way. Finally glancing up when Woojin nudged the younger’s side, he startled at all the curious gazes focused on him. 

“Can I help you?” He asked after staring at the member’s faces for a few seconds. 

“Well, we gathered here today to hear about your rules of the street and some more about your time there.” Chan prompted the younger amongst various sounds of affirmation from his friends. 

Minho’s eyes widened, and Jisung could almost  _ see  _ the confused thoughts circling around in his head. 

“Minho hyung, we really care about you,” Seungmin said, sitting forward to gain the older’s attention. “You’ve seen a lot of what our lives are like this past week, but we really do want to know what life was like for you, too.”

“Besides,” Hyunjin chuckled and picked himself up from where he was tucked under Changbin’s arm, “maybe your street rules will give us something better to control Bin and Lix with. Those two just can’t be contained by  _ anything  _ the college throws at them.” He let out a loud giggle after that and Changbin reached out to jab at his side, causing the younger to squeal and flinch away. 

_ I swear, if they aren’t married by the time the year ends, I’m going to sign documents for them myself,  _ Jisung thought as he saw Hyunjin happily ease back into Changbin’s arms once he stopped trying to destroy the younger’s side. 

Turning his attention back to Minho, he saw the older already looking at him. Jisung smiled, and tried his best to convey a silent, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. The boys will understand.” If Minho’s sad smile and gentle shake of his head was anything to go off of, the older had understood, but still wanted to take the risk. 

“I guess,” Minho began, raising his voice to be heard over the chatter. “I should start from as close to the beginning as possible?” At the members eager nods, Minho smiled and started telling the about his time on the streets. 

“I joined up with a little homeless community a couple of days after I first got on the streets. That’s where I met Taemin-hyung and Yeji. Those two people were absolutely crucial to helping me survive, and I’m so grateful that I did meet them. 

“When I first got to the camp, Yeji was the one who shared supplies with me and showed me the best places to raid for good food. She would take me with her to busking grounds and even stole the hat that I use for busking, even to this day, for me. She was probably the closest thing to a little sister I could get, and she even reminded me of Jeonginnie in some ways. She was incredibly headstrong and willing to do almost anything for me.

“I remember one time, a month into my time with them, I got stabbed,” Minho chuckled and Jisung, for the life of him, could not understand why it warranted that reaction.  _ He did say stabbed, right? As in, with a knife? _

Sharing bewildered looks with his friends, they waited for Minho to continue, the boy completely oblivious to their questioning gazes. 

“God, Yeji was absolutely hilarious. She ran into the nearest pharmacy and started screaming and crying about how her brother accidentally cut his arm on barbed wire. The attendants were so concerned with her absolute fit, they didn’t even notice when Tae-hyung snuck in and took all of the things I’d need to patch myself up. She was the best actor I knew, and when she finally “calmed down” enough for the people to help her, I had already been bandaged and out the door. The poor people hadn’t even realized they’d been robbed blind.” At that point, Minho dissolved into laughter, caught up in his past and, clearly, happy memories. Woojin was staring at his friend, as were most of the other members at the tables. Jisung, personally, was staring at the table wondering why a stab wound was something worthy of this much laughter. 

_ I guess I just had to be there? _

Jisung glances over to the counter before quietly standing up and moving over to it, reaching for his wallet and pulling out three crumpled bills he had found in the back of his desk during a producing session gone wrong. 

He slid the bills over and held up a water bottle in exchange. The employee nodded, and Jisung turned to move back to the table, interrupting the questions being fired at Minho about his apparent  _ stab wound  _ to give the boy the water. At his questioning glance, Jisung simply said, “You’ve been talking a lot. I don’t want you to get dehydrated.”

Ignoring the chorus of “whipped”s that followed him back to his chair, Jisung sat down and turned to look back to the elder, noticing a soft smile he hadn’t seen before on him. He grinned at the other and gestures for Minho to keep talking, which he did after a brief drink. 

“Anyways, Yeji was there to help me figure out the ins and outs of food and busking, but it was Taemin-hyung who taught me the street rules and how to fight. He had the dumbest philosophy for why people should learn to fight. Whenever I would ask him why I couldn’t just run, he’d reply with “ _ Running gives you stamina, and if you have stamina, that means that you could probably beat me in a marathon. I’ve yet to lose the annual homeless marathon, so you’re going to learn to fight.” _ And so I learned to fight.

“The rules of the street were really simple. 

“1) never get in between a man and his burrito. I have witnessed near murders because someone tried to take a bean and cheese burrito without consent. That’s scary business. 

“2) always know which way north is. Most people don’t know, but a lot of the shelters for homeless people are found closer to the north side of town. No one is sure why, but if you know which way north is, you always know the way to a place that can help you if you need it. 

“3) if the cot has your name on it, that means you delegate it to whoever may need it. That saying that homeless people are greedy? Not true, at least in our community. If you had claim to a cot, you would make sure there wasn’t someone who needed it more before you’d use it. I slept on the hard floor a few more nights than I could have if I hadn’t followed that rule, but since we’re a community, we supported each other. 

“Actually, there was this one time Jae-hyung stole a mattress from a store a block away. I have absolutely no idea how he managed to do it, but we shared that mattress clear until I was forced out.” At the concerned looks the boys gave him, Minho shook his head and sat forward.

“I knew it was coming. We were a community, but several people devote their time to helping people new to the streets find their way. I was one of the new people, and I could have chosen to stay behind and help, but it didn’t feel right to me. So one day, when I came back from my busking to see a new guy moved into my space, I’ll admit I was mad, but I accepted it. 

“And honestly? I’m grateful that it happened,” Minho smiled and glanced around at the worried faces. “Because without me getting kicked from that community, I would never have met you guys.”

Jisung felt tears well up in his eyes, and he tried to force them down, but based on the soft coos around him, he failed. 

“Aw Jisungie,” Felix called from across the table. “Don’t start being emotional  _ now!  _ We were so close to getting through part two of the tragic backstory (trademark) without any tears shed.”

Seungmin looked up from where he had been patting a shaking Chan on the back, “Did you  _ really  _ just say trademark out loud?” At Felix’s proud grin, Jisung felt the tension around them ease as Seungmin gripes at the younger for having no sense for the proper time and place to joke. 

Feeling his phone vibrate, Jisung looked down to see a Kakao notification. Wondering who would be messaging him now, considering all of his friends were literally right here, he opened the message to find Minho had decided to check on him. 

 

**Myho** _ : hey are you okay? _

**Myho:** _ wait that name is stupid when did you change it? _

**Myho:** _ follow up: since when am I urs? _

 

**Sungie:** _ I figured it worked since you had a cute name for me.  _

**Sungie:** _ but yeah, hyung, I’m fine.  _

**Sungie:** _ it just shocked me a bit to hear abt everything you went through _

**Sungie:** _ ur so strong hyung _

 

**Myho:** _ thanks Sungie  _

**Myho:** _ I’ll admit not all of it was great, but I’m glad it happened Bc I got to meet you because of it.  _

**Myho:** _ now pay attention. We’re trying to figure out dinner.  _

 

Jisung looked at the stream of messages that came in and tried to keep the blood from rising to his cheeks. If Chan’s confused poke at his cheeks was anything to gauge off of, it seemed he was unsuccessful. 

“So I think we should shoot our shot at the cafeteria again,” Changbin contributed, but didn’t do much more than run his fingers through Hyunjin’s hair. The younger seemed to be enjoying it, if the small sleepy grin on his face was anything to go off of. 

Minho hummed in agreement, “The cafeteria sounds good. Cooking for 8 people is a lot of effort, especially in y’all’s shitty little dorm kitchens.” 

“Wow chill,” Woojin playfully snapped, batting at the hand that had been playing with the frayed edges of the hole in his knee. “Not all of us are rich enough to own full kitchen upgrades.”

“Yeah,” Jisung quipped, moving away from Chan in preparation to the response he was sure he was going to get. “Only  _ one  _ of us is here on scholarship, and he’s too lazy to even stay in his own dorm.”

Chan let out a very undignified squawk and attempted to grab at Jisung to probably perform some form of bodily harm. He was stopped by a firm, “Channie,” from Woojin and then the whole corner dissolved into laughter at the guilty look he shot the eldest member. 

_ Yeah,  _ Jisung thought,  _ Minho was right. He may not have been alone on the streets, but I think he was a good addition to our little family.  _

_ ~~~~ _

Minho must admit, considering how often Jisung complained about the cafeteria dinners, this one wasn’t bad at all. They had a buffet with an assortment of different sandwiches and noodle dishes to choose from, and Chan had told him that he could get whatever he wanted so Minho had piled his plate with almost everything there was. 

The group found a table that could fit the 8 of them and they clambered around it, laughing and sharing earbuds as they showed Minho the producer’s highest moment in their career: Wow. 

Minho couldn’t see by the end of Jisung’s verse because of how absolutely  _ awful  _ the lyrics were. At the end, Hyunjin wiped his tears away and asked through deep breaths, “oh my god, can you believe for a second you  _ actually _ thought you were straight?”

To which Jisung replied, “Uh, 3RACHA are the bisexual nation and we are  _ proud  _ to represent it.” He turned his head and gave a dignified sniff, ignoring the snorts that surrounded him. 

“What does the dance team represent?” Minho asked, glancing over to his two fellow dancers, “You know, besides being Sungie’s sugar babies?” Minho felt his lips curve into a smirk as Jisung promptly choked on his own dignity. 

“We are the Gayrax. We speak for the Gays,” Felix said sagely before shoving half a sausage into his mouth. 

“Ah I may have to join 3RACHA, then,” Minho sighed and sat back soaking in the shocked gasps and the chorus of “wait, no no stay with us” that came from the dancers and the smirks that came from everyone else. 

Minho could gladly get used to this. 

~~~~

Another two weeks passed, Minho was growing very proficient at playing the guitar and the dancers had finally figured out how the rest of the showcase would go. Minho  _ also  _ finally managed to squeeze the truth out of the cowards and got them to admit that he was the third person in the routine. 

Choreographing the dance went much smoother after that. 

In the three weeks he was with the group, Minho finally understood the frustration that came from the flirtation of the resident dance and rap couple. He wasn't sure  _ how  _ two people could be completely oblivious, but Hyunjin and Changbin made it work. Much to the irritation of literally everybody else. 

That Saturday found Minho going to a coffee shop with Jisung, the younger having something he needed to tell the older. Minho knew the semester was coming to an end, so he was honestly expecting Jisung to tell him he’d have to find somewhere else to stay over the break. 

Minho had his hands tucked into his giant winter coat that the boys had surprised him with the day after the first snow, and figured that as long as he had that, he’d be able to tough it out until someone got back. 

The two boys ordered their drinks (and  _ Minho _ paid for them. That’s right. He had gotten a job at the local book store and had received his first paycheck the day before, which was part of the reason the two were out again, so Minho could repay Jisung for everything he had done for the older.) and sat down at a table near the window so they could watch the outsiders pass by. 

They chatted about nonsense topics for a few minutes, but when their drinks came out, Jisung got serious very quickly. 

“So, hyung,” he began, running a finger around the rim of his cup. “As you know, the end of the semester is next week. Once we finish finals, we’re essentially done-“

“Which means I need to find somewhere to stay for break, right?” Minho asked with a small smile, leaning back in his chair. 

“What?” Jisung looked up from where he had been staring at the table (or something equally as pointless to avoid making eye contact. Minho knew the younger well enough by now to know he didn’t like looking at people when he had something important he needed to say). “No, hyung!” He leaned forward and grabbed Minho’s hand which had been about to wrap around his mug. “You don’t need to worry about a place to stay! I’m not going home this break, and neither are Lixie or Channie-hyung! You’ll have somewhere, don’t worry.”

Minho frowned, “Then why are you telling me about finals and the end of semester?” 

Right as Jisung was about to answer, Minho felt his phone vibrate. Knowing he kept every group chat he was added to muted, Minho pulled his phone out to see Jeongin had sent him a string of messages. 

 

**FoxedIn:** _ hyung! Good news, my finals are done.  _

**FoxedIn:** _ break starts in a few days, so I have a big surprise for you _

**FoxedIn:** _ I’m coming home for Christmas! I thought it would be a good idea because I don’t want you living in that big house all alone for the holidays :) _

**FoxedIn:** _ oh and don’t try to change my mind. I’ve been saving up since the start of the semester and I’ve already booked my ticket _

**FoxedIn:** _ so I’ll see you on Monday at the station, okay? _

 

Minho felt his heart stop beating. His felt his breathing begin to speed up, but could do nothing to stop it as he stared at his phone. 

He didn’t even register the worried, “Hyung? Hyung!” that came from across the table. Then, the phone was removed from his hands. He felt a hand card itself through his hair and he heard a gentle “shhh, it’ll be okay,” break through his momentary panic. 

“Just stay with me, hyung. Can you do that?” Minho nodded frantically and focused on Jisung. “Good, hyung. Go ahead and breathe with me, ready? In and out…” Minho tried to slow his breathing to match his Sungie’s and he suddenly crashed down from the panicked high. 

“Sungie? Sungie?” He asked, feeling Jisung give a soft chuckle as he continued to completely surround the older. 

“Are you feeling better now?” 

“Yeah, sorry for making you have to put up with an attack in public.” Minho muttered into Jisung’s chest, turning his head so that he could feel nothing but the younger around him. 

“It’s no problem, you’ve helped me enough to know that by now.” Minho hummed to show that he heard the younger, but didn’t feel like responding. Jisung smiled softly into his hair and asked one of Minho’s least favorite questions: “What caused the attack this time?” 

Instead of answering, Minho simply handed the younger his phone and pulled up the chat log. 

Based on the younger’s surprised “oh,” Minho would be getting a solution to this pretty soon.

_ At least, that’s the most I can hope for.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is such a filler chapter I’m sorry  
> I needed to get to a place where I could finally introduce Innie, but the story wasn't ready for him yet so I gave some more Minho bg and a bit of fluff for y’all. 
> 
> Me: I’m on vacation please don’t expect anything  
> Me, literally a day later: anyways here’s a filler chapter and a cute one-shot in a different verse. 
> 
> I had a stupid amount of free time today and so I busted this out. We’re reaching the end of the journey. I want this wrapped up by graduation at the latest (because we have two seniors leaving the school! Woo!) but winter break is going to be pretty busy for our team. 
> 
> Minho will have his audition soon and Jeongin is going to actually exist (I’m sorry I’ve been bad to him :() so keep with this for just a little bit longer!
> 
> P.S. I hope the panic attack was realistic enough,,, I’ve only ever read about attacks so if it’s not super accurate, I’m sorry :(((
> 
> As always, you can contact me on [twt](https://twitter.com/2minlix)


	5. Be the cat uncle and shut up already

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NeenyNinnie is Jeongin, everybody else is the same in the chats!  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> This chapter has several (hopefully) emotional moments! please enjoy :,)

Jisung stood in the station next to a pacing Minho. They had been planning on meeting Jeongin and where he was going to stay, along with  _ several  _ other particulars, for the past two days. Minho was beside himself with worry that his little brother was going to “find out what a failure he was” and not accept him as his strong older brother anymore. 

So his friends tried to help fix that. 

——

_ “So he can stay at the dorms during finals, right? That’s not going to be an issue?” Minho asked from where he was anxiously tapping a pen on Woojin’s desk.  _

_ “Yes, Minho. He knows me, too, so it would make sense to him that you’d be staying with us while your house is being renovated.”  _ Ah, that stupid lie.  _ Jisung thought  _ we can’t allow Jeongin to know that his older brother couldn’t pay a bill meant for two full income residents by himself, so he lost it. That’s  _ not  _ what we’re trying to cover up at all. 

_ “Okay, and then since Jisungie and Channie-hyung are staying, it’s okay for us to kind of shuffle between dorms? Extra bodies won’t bother you, right?” _

_ “Hyung,” Jisung whined, trying desperately to break through to the worried boy, “we all know the plan! We’ve also been shuffling you around for the past three weeks, so I don’t see how one more body will be that much more of an issue!”  _

_ Minho let out a defeated sigh and slumped over the desk, ignoring the hesitant pats Chan gave him. “I know, Sungie, I’m just scared out of my mind.” _

_ “I don’t understand why you can’t just tell him,” Chan questioned, smiling at Woojin for bringing him his 5 o'clock coffee.  _

_ Jisung sighed as he heard Minho ramble off the same, “I don’t want to be a disappointment to my little Jeonginnie like our father was. I’m not going to leave him like every other member of our family.”  _

_ “Regardless,” Chan argued, “I think telling the truth would have a better impact on him than the lies. What’s going to happen when he realizes that you  _ did  _ lie?” _

_ “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Woojin interjected, leveling his boyfriend with one of his “listen to me because I know what’s best” looks. “Right now, let’s just follow Minho’s plan so we can be ready to greet Jeongin when he gets home.” _

And _ , Jisung thought,  _ let’s hope that the plan won’t fall through like every other thing we’ve tried to do. 

——

Jisung glanced back over to Minho and worried his lower lip as he thought about the brochure hidden away in his desk. He was supposed to tell Minho about the Idol Scholarship the night they found out Jeongin was coming home. The official audition for the fall semester was the day before spring semester let back in. If they wanted Minho to be able to get into the college, he  _ needed  _ to know about the scholarship before then. 

He wanted to let the older know before they let out for break so he could have ample time to prepare his pieces and ask for help (not that he’d need it). 

Gathering his courage to either ask Minho about it now or to meet with him while his brother was here, he began. “Hey, hyung-“

But just as he was about to ask, he was interrupted by a loud, “Hyungie!” Minho jerked his head around to the voice so quickly, Jisung was afraid he would get whiplash. 

At the small shocked gasp that came from Minho before he ran forward, Jisung assumed he had found his little brother. He ran forward and wrapped his arms around a blond-haired boy, picking him up and swinging him in a circle. Jisung felt a small smile creep across his face and the absolute  _ gleeful  _ laugh that was escaping from Minho.

As the two brothers finished their absolutely cliched reunion, Jisung ambled over to them. Minho set, who Jisung must assume to be, Jeongin down and frantically looked the taller boy over. 

“You’ve grown so much!” Was the first thing Jisung heard, and he almost lost his footing at the disgusted undertone Minho had. Jisung saw the older look up and then snorted at the way his eyes comically widened and he grabbed a handful of the other’s hair. “And  _ who  _ gave you the right to dye your hair  _ blond?”  _ Minho began muttering under his breath, something along the lines of “the second you turn blond the second you start  _ acting  _ like one”, and, based on the gentle smile on his brother’s face, this was regular. 

“Hi,” he interrupted Minho’s muttering, catching the younger boy’s attention. “My name is Jisung, but you can call me hyung. I’m a year younger than your brother!” He gave the boy a large smile before bowing to him, getting the smile and bow in return. 

“Hey, I’m Jeongin, but you probably already knew that.” He then held his hand out and Jisung accepted it with a bit of confusion. “And, hyung? I want to say thank you for taking care of my Minho-hyung. I know it must have been hard,” Jisung stared at Jeongin in disbelief as an offended “Yah!” sounded behind them. 

Minho stormed over and yanked Jeongin’s hand away from Jisung’s. “Watch it, brat. I’m still your older brother,” he griped at the youngest, ignoring the way his brother’s eyes curled up in amusement. “Besides,” he muttered, turning and grabbing Jeongin’s luggage, “I take more care of him than he ever did for me.”

Jisung tried to pretend his cheeks didn’t suddenly fill with blood as Jeongin cackled behind him. 

_ This was going to be a long visit.  _

_ ~~~~ _

Minho  _ knew  _ he was acting odd. He could tell by the way Jisung would reach over and put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention before giving him one of those  _ looks.  _ It was the look that said, “listen, you’re being an absolute idiot and you just need to own up to your brother and tell him you don’t have a home and you’ve been living with your friends.”

To which Minho would reply with his own look that says “I  _ know  _ that I’m being illogical but  _ you  _ look at him and tell me you’d be willing to tell him you were forced to give up his childhood home so you weren’t arrested.”

Jisung would then roll his eyes and give the older a “we’ll talk later look,” and Jeongin would just look between the two. 

“So,” he began carefully, catching the two older boys’ attention. “Are y’all like… dating or something?” Minho is a coward, but he’s man enough to admit that his heart stopped for a second when his little brother asked him that. 

“Ah,” Jisung began in that adorably — no, not adorably. There’s nothing adorable about him — awkward tone he got when he tried to explain something to his friends. “No, we’re really just friends. He’s been staying at my place for a bit, though, so we’ve gotten closer because of that?” Jisung ended his statement almost like a question, glancing at the older to make sure what he was saying was okay. 

“Really?” Jeongin asked, “Hyung, why haven’t you been staying at home?” 

Minho hesitated and glanced at his brother before giving him a gentle smile, “Well,” he began. “We recently had to get some renovations done in order to keep with the community standard, so I moved in with Sungie and a couple of his friends until the reno was done.” Jeongin let out a sound of understanding and nodded along with what Minho was saying. 

_ Thankfully, he doesn’t really question me anymore, or this would be a scary proceeding.  _

_ “ _ Then I guess I should really be thanking you, again, hyung,” Jeongin said, turning to a surprised Jisung. Minho gave a small smile as he watched his friend and brother interact. Their connection was obvious, and it seemed Jisung was already accepted into his little family fold. 

_ Good, Jeonginnie needs more mentor figures in his life.  _ Minho shocked himself a bit with the thought.  _ Since when have I seen Jisung as a permanent staple in my life enough to consider him one for Jeongin? _

Deciding to file that conversation away for a later date, Minho turned to look out the window, smiling at the cityscape as it passed. 

If there had been one thing he appreciated about becoming homeless, it was finally seeing the beauty in the simple constructions around him. He didn’t realize how nice a chain store could look until he could confirm where he was based on the four different McDonalds in the area. Minho could confidently say he knew at least half of Seoul like the back of his hand. The other half? Probably about as well as the bottom of his foot, but if there was one thing the bottom of his foot could do, it was get him where he needed to go. 

Minho allowed the dull chatter of Jisung and Jeongin to wash over him as he closed his eyes. He almost jerked out of the sleepy state he was in as an arm wrapped around his waist, but as he was pulled into someone’s side, he quickly realized it was Jisung and just curled into the younger, not noticing the fond look that crossed over his friend’s face. 

Minho allowed himself to drift to sleep as Jisung ran his fingers gently through his hair, and thanked whatever force prompted Jisung to give him that. 10,000 won. Without it, he surely would have never felt safe enough to so willingly doze off in a public space. 

~~~~

Jisung was whipped. He knew he was whipped, and he  _ certainly  _ didn’t need the little blond bastard giving him a knowing look from across the bus seat as he provided Minho with a pillow. 

With a sniff and tilt of his head, he asked, “Can I help you?” 

Jeongin let out a light giggle that was, honestly, adorable — no not adorable, he’s  _ mocking  _ you, therefore nothing he does is cute — before replying. “Hyung, you do realize that you are basically petting my brother like a cat right now, right?” 

Jisung glanced down at the hand running through Minho’s hair before glancing back at the younger boy. “And what of it?”

“Nothing, just wanted to make sure you knew.”

Jisung leveled a glare at Jeongin as he gave him  _ another  _ god damn knowing look. “And what is  _ that  _ look for?”

Jeongin gave Jisung a small smile as he replied, “I’ve never seen Minho-hyung this comfortable with someone. He used to be really close to Woojinnie-hyung, but suddenly he stopped talking about him and wouldn’t tell me what happened. I assumed Woojin-hyung left, and that was the end of it.”

Jisung listened to the younger as he got yet another glimpse into Minho’s past. 

“After Woojinnie-hyung, Minho-hyung never really let anybody in. He was too scared that they would find out about our family, or that he wasn’t going to college anymore so he could take care of his kid brother. 

“I’ve always hated that. He gave up his entire future just to make sure  _ I  _ would be okay. Out of all the stupid, selfless things he’s done, that one takes the cake. Hyung had such a bright future. Did you know he had a chance to go dance for the BTS world tour but he turned it down because he didn’t want me to be alone for my senior year?” Jisung could  _ feel  _ the way his face dropped in shock, and the rueful look on Jeongin’s told him there was more. 

“I would  _ technically  _ be in the same year as you, because you’re a year older, right? I tested up a year in middle school, but because of some issues with financing, I had to retake half of my senior classes over the summer, so I couldn’t get into courses until last spring, so I’m still technically a first-year student. Hyung was  _ livid _ when he found out, but not at me.”

Jeongin gave a bitter chuckle, and Jisung was slowly realizing how dark this story really was. “That was the first time my brother raised his voice at my father. That was  _ also _ the first time dad had dipped into our education funding to take care of his habits. Hyung made sure it was the last time, too. I’ve been in school since last spring, but I was at a small community college here in Seoul for basics before I got transferred to the university in Busan.”

Jisung nodded, knowing this bit of the story. “Then, your dad got arrested and Minho gave up education to protect him, right?” Judging by the sad smile Jeongin gave him, Jisung hit the nail right on the head. 

He turned and looked at the boy on his shoulder.  _ You really carried the whole world for him, didn’t you? _

Minho sighed and nuzzled further into Jisung’s side.  _ Well, it’s about time someone gave part of the world back to you.  _

_ ~~~~ _

Minho was a wreck. He’s felt like it constantly, really since he woke up, but there’s not much he could do until Jeongin approved his new life style. Not that he  _ needed  _ his brother’s approval, but Minho has always had this underlying desire to make sure Jeongin was okay with what he was doing. It may be too selfless of him, but he would do nearly anything for the younger boy, something Jeongin may or may not know. Knowing Jeongin was happy with his lifestyle was something basic that ran through his chemistry. If Jeongin wasn’t happy, Minho would gladly do whatever was necessary to make him happy. 

However, for the first time in his life, he was terrified that he would have to change his life for the younger. Minho was so happy where he was and he didn’t really want anything about the situation to change. And that is where Minho finds himself, staring at the door in front of him, too scared to actually go inside. 

Jisung stepped up next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder (that was far more comforting than it should be) before pushing the door open. 

The three boys stepped into the room and were greeted by 6 others sprawled about the room. 

Hyunjin and Changbin had situated themselves on Woojin and Chan’s bed while the owners of said bed worked in the kitchen, preparing snacks of some sort for the group. Felix looked up from his phone at the sound of the door and he leaned over to shake a dozing Seungmin awake. 

“Honey, we’re home,” Jisung quipped, and the other boys who hadn’t immediately looked up at the door turned to the sound of his voice. Everyone got up to greet Jeongin, but Minho was too focused on his little brother to notice anything else. As soon as the trip had walked in, Jeongin had frozen and was staring at Woojin. 

“Innie?” He asked worriedly. Minho glanced over to Woojin, wondering what the other had done to make Jeongin react this way. 

“Hyung? Is- is that really Woojinnie-hyung?” Jeongin asked, his voice barely audible as he kept his eyes trained on the oldest. 

Minho glanced up to see Woojin give a gentle smile before weaving through the boys cluttered room. (They really should just look into an apartment with how often the area was invaded by the older boys’ so-called children.) 

Woojin finally made it to stand in front of Jeongin and Minho could  _ see  _ the sadness in his eyes. “Hey, Ninnie,” he greeted, and Jeongin’s eyes welled with unshed tears. “I see you’ve grown up a bit. I used to have to actually look down to make eye contact with you.”

Jeongin gave a teary laugh and ducked his head down for Woojin to ruffle his hair, just like he would do every time Jeongin joined the older friends for lunch. Minho saw Woojin’s eyes light up and he carefully reached up to run his fingers through the younger’s blond hair. 

“Hyungie, I’ve grown a lot since you’ve last seen me!” Jeongin said, looking up with a sad smile. “Why did you just disappear the way you did?” 

Minho felt himself get a bit choked up at the pained grimace that crossed Woojin’s face. “I didn’t do it because of anything you or your brother did, Ninnie.” Minho saw Woojin’s own eyes begin to glisten and he actually had to look away from the two boys’ reunion for a few seconds to gain his own composure. “I just didn’t know how to keep in touch because of your phones. But it doesn’t matter now,” he said, pulling Jeongin into a hug. “What matters now is that I’ve found both of you again, and I’m not letting either of you go any time soon.”

Minho saw Jeongin grin into Woojin’s, now tear dampened, shirt. He felt a few tears escape from his eyes as he gave a small laugh.  _ Of course _ , he thought as he accepted a tissue from Chan (who had been passing them around to the other 6 boys throughout the reunion).  _ I shouldn’t have worried about anything. Woojinnie knows what he’s doing. And just look at Jeonginnie. I may have made stupid decisions in the past, but at least they got me here. At least they got me the ability to see my little brother with that look on his face one last time. I can finally know he’s loved by more than just me. _

The group slowly composed themselves, some quicker than others. Minho and Changbin stop crying very soon after Woojin had sat Jeongin at one of the unclaimed seats in the dorm. They both took responsibility for calming the other members of the group, although Seungmin just glared at them when they tried to approach him. Eventually, they settled for throwing tissues at him while hugging Jisung and Hyunjin, trying to soothe them. Felix seemed to take it upon himself to use Chan’s shirt as a tissue, something the older didn’t seem all that happy with but was letting it happen anyways. 

As soon as Jisung was calm enough, he prompted Minho to go over to his brother. “You see me almost every day. You haven’t seen him in half a year.” Minho shuffled over to Jeongin and the younger gave him a teary smile before standing up. Minho, understanding immediately what he needed, sat in the chair Jeongin had just vacated and wrapped his arms around the boy when he curled into his lap. 

“You know,” Minho murmured in his ear, “You used to actually fit in my lap when we did this.” 

“Shut up,” Jeongin said, curling closer to Minho’s chest, “I fit just fine. You just need to get taller.”

Minho poked him in the side with an indignant “yah! It’s your fault for becoming a literal green bean. Be happy I’m even holding your skinny little ass.”

Jeongin laughed and gave a soft, “thanks, hyung,” before he turned to the sounds of cooing from around him. 

“Hyunjinnie, I’m sorry, but I think I have a new favorite,” Chan said from where he was now patting a thoroughly calmed Felix. 

Woojin let out a laugh from the kitchen where he had gone back to preparing snacks. He slowly made his way around the room, dropping off baggies filled with pretzels and carrots. When he reached Jeongin, the boy lit up when he realized what was in the bag, “Hyung! You remembered!”

“Of course I did, Ninnie. How could I forget your favorite snacks when they came with a sandwich every single time you would pack lunch?”

Minho hated to interrupt the moment, but he cleared his throat before beginning. “Well, I guess we should start with introductions. Obviously, you know Woojinnie-hyung already, but over there, the guy with blond curly hair? That’s Chan-hyung. He’s a producing major and Woojinnie’s boyfriend. Next to him is Felix. Lixie dances a lot, but he’s also really good at karate. The boy next to him, who looks slightly constipated? That’s Seungmin. He doesn’t normally look like that, but our emotional powwow got in the way of his biology studies so you’ve got to give him a bit of a break, okay?”

Jeongin let out a small giggle and apologized to Seungmin, which the other waved off with a simple, “If it wasn’t you, it would have been something else. Don’t worry about it.”

“Then, standing over by the door is Changbin. Normally he’s attached to Hyunjinnie’s side, but he’s too busy being embarrassed right now. Hyunjin is over there on the bed, he’s like the biggest kid I know, but he’s also cruel. Please never get on his bad side. Jisungie could tell you stories that would make your toes curl.”

Jeongin nodded and greeted the last two boys with a happy little grin, which Hyunjin returned before leaning forward eagerly. Minho snorted as he saw Changbin quickly wiggle back to his spot being Hyunjin as the younger began talking. 

“So tell me, Jeonginnie — I can call you that right?— anyways, has Minho-hyung told you about how me and Jisung met yet?”

Minho felt his eyes widen and, based on the snorts that came from the boys in the middle of the room, Jisung had a similar look on his face. 

“No, Hyunjin-hyung, Minho really only told me about why he was staying with everyone here because of the house renovations.” Minho flinched at the glare he felt leveled at his back by Woojin before wrapping his arms even tighter around Jeongin’s midsection. 

As his brother lit up with amusement hearing about Jisung’s adventures as a sugar daddy, Minho made a promise to himself that he’d tell Jeongin about their lack of a house before he left. 

_ At least now I know he has somewhere to go if something happens to me.  _

_ ~~~~ _

**WE ARE FAMILY**

 

**WeeWoo:** _ i guess it’s only right that i include the actual family members in the chat _

 

_ [WeeWoo added NeenyNinnie to the chat] _

 

**YeetLix:** _ oh my god i love his name _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ guess we’re adopting another stray _

 

**NeenyNinnie:** _ something tells me this is gonna be much more chaotic than by bio gc _

 

**Chrispy:** _ there’s sadly more trute to that fhan is like to admit _

 

**HeSings:** _ hyung have you had too much to drink? That’s like,,, 2 whole typos  _

 

**Chrispy:** _ I will not hesitate to come to your dorm and step on your small toe _

 

**YeetLix:** _ wait is THAT what Jeongin’s laugh sounds like? Dammit I’m whipped _

 

**MinnieMouse:** _ why do none of you never have classes I s2g _

**MinnieMouse:** _ every single time Y’all talk I’m in class I’m sueinf  _

**MinnieMouse:** _ sueing* _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ not OUR fault you decided to double major with teaching and music. Even I could have told you that would suc _

 

**MinnieMouse:** _ stop being a douche and let me complain in PEACE _

 

**Chrispy:** _ I know I say this all the time, but watch the swearing! There’s a baby no  _

 

**YeetLix:** _ you mean Jeongin? _

 

**WeeWoo:** _ Lix I knew you were dumb but this is really taking it to a new level _

 

**CBing:** _ OOOOOOOOOOOOOO BURN _

 

**YeetLix:** _ changbin i know where your lap top is _

**YeetLix:** _ I have a flash drive. I WONT hesitate _

 

**CBing:** _ god dammit every time I come to this chat _

 

**Chrispy:** _ there! Are! CHILDREN!! Present! _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ hey Chan? Not to burst your bubble but Innie could kill you at least 30 different ways in the next ten minutes if he wanted to _

 

**NeenyNinnie:** _ biology is such a cool class! :) _

 

**HeSings:** _ mom im scared _

**HeSings:** _ okay topic hop Bc literally everyone who is related to Lee Minho is a Menace _

**HeSings:** _ but does anyone wanna be a real bro and run by the store to get me something to munch on _

**HeSings:** _ ya boi is Starved _

 

**MinnieMouse:** _ see, id do it if i actually cared, but I’m in class so that’s a double no from me _

 

**CBing:** _ sorry, too busy feeding jinnie _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ too busy being fed _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ I can get you something when I shift is over if you’ll wait another 2 hours? _

 

**HeSings:** _ I knew there was a reason I loved you _

 

**YeetLix:** _ and in this episode of Seoul’s Soul, we see the sugar baby become the sugar daddy _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ Felix. _

 

**YeetLix:** _ yes understood. Have a nice day _

 

**NeenyNinnie:** _ lol _

_ ~~~~ _

Minho sighed as he put his phone down, hoping that the boys would use the time he was at work to either bond with Jeongin or study. Hopefully, there’s would be a mixture of both, but Minho knew studying probably wasn’t going to happen unless Woojin forced the boys’ heads to their guides. 

He looked out the window, grateful for the hood on his jacket as the rain began to get harder. The storm was shaping up to be a nasty one, and Minho was glad that he had somewhere to go for the night. He hoped that his old community would be fine, but knowing Yeji and Taemin, the crew was already hunkered down under tinfoil roofs that did a surprisingly good job fending off the elements. 

He went back to his tedious job of sitting at the front counter and waiting for someone to show up when he heard it. Outside, just under the awning, there was a very faint cry. Minho went to the door and saw a small orange kitten sitting up and meowing at the door. The poor thing was shivering and, without any hesitation, Minho pulled the door open to scoop the cat up and bring it inside. However, before he could grab the cat, it leaped up and, still shivering like no tomorrow, walked back into the rain. Minho stared at the car for a second before going to go back to grab his jacket to try to bribe the cat inside. As he turned away, the meows pitched to an almost desperate level, and Minho tried to get his coat as quickly as possible, flipping the sign on the door to read “Sorry! We’re closed.” before chasing after the kitten as it plowed through the freezing rain. 

Minho clicked his tongue, but the cat would only turn and look to make sure Minho was still there before turning and moving ahead again. Eventually, Minho was led to a narrow alleyway and he hesitated before ducking through. Once in the alleyway, the sound of the rain was dampened and he heard the orange cat meow, then it was echoed by an even more pitiful meow from behind the trash can in the alley. 

Minho eased forward and looked behind the empty can to find a small black and grey tabby kitten, no bigger than his palm curled up with its eyes screwed up as it meowed and held its front leg out. Minho gasped when he noticed it was bent at an odd angle and looked like the bone was sticking out of the cat’s fur. The orange kitten bound over to the smaller kitten and looked up at Minho before nudging at the tabby. Minho reached a careful hand out and allowed the tabby to sniff at his hand before he gently picked the cat up. Cradelling the cat in his arm, careful of its leg, he then reached down to get the orange cat, who went willingly into his hold. 

Minho quickly went back to the bookstore and texted his boss, telling him what was happening. Once he got the okay to close early to take care of the cats, Minho quickly went to the emergency hospital for animals two blocks over. 

Once he got in, he showed reception the tabby but claimed he could take care of the orange kitten for the time being. The receptionist nodded, handed Minho a towel, and took the little tabby to a back room. The orange kitten struggled but eventually curled into Minho’s careful ministrations.

After he calmed the kitten down, he sent a message to the group chat, telling them that he was going to be home later than expected, but not to worry. As expected, the chat erupted, but Minho simply turned his phone off and went back to petting the now purring kitten in his lap. He sat in peaceful silence for another 5 minutes before his phone rang, and he figured someone had finally realized he wasn’t answering messages. 

Seeing Chan’s name on the title card, Minho accepted the call and heard frantic shushing before Chan greeted him with a  _ very  _ casual, “Hey, Minho.”

_ Hey indeed.  _

_ ~~~~ _

Jisung was beside himself with worry.  _ Is this what Minho felt like introducing us all to Jeonginnie? Because I can forgive him for literally everything he did that day as long as he’s okay.  _

He remembered the joy that had filled him when Minho said he’d get him food. It wasn’t even that big of a deal, but, for some reason, Minho going out of his way to get food for Jisung made those stupid little butterflies in his stomach take flight like clear up to his esophagus. He had decided to devote a bit of time to studying before he ultimately got distracted and did something stupid with his time waiting for the older to get back. 

Not even an hour after he sat at his desk, Minho had sent a message to their chat telling them he would probably be home later than normal. When everyone asked what was wrong, he didn’t respond, naturally sending all of his friends into a frenzy. Surprisingly, the calmest about the situation was Jeongin. He sat on the bed and sighed at his phone, but made no other moves to find his brother. When Hyunjin asked him why he wasn’t more panicked, he replied, “Sometimes hyung will do this, just give him time and he’ll come back.”

Naturally, everyone ignored him so they could find Minho. Jisung wasn’t sure when it happened, but Chan gathered everyone in Woojin’s room and sat them in a circle around his phone. He called Minho, and, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, he picked up after the third ring. 

Chan shushed everybody before checking that the speaker was on and greeting Minho. “Hey, Minho.”

“Hey, hyung. I guess I should say hello to everybody else, too?” Minho gave a dry chuckle and the group stared at the phone as they waited for him to continue. “Well you don’t need to worry about me, I’m currently at the hospital-“

“ _ What?”  _ Woojin interrupted, sitting up from where he had been leaning against Chan to grab the phone. “ _ Why  _ are you at the hospital? What possible idiotic thing could you have done  _ shelving books  _ to land you there?” If Jisung hadn’t been thinking the same thing (or just worrying himself into an early grave in general), he would have been amused by the absolute exasperated way Woojin questioned the boy. 

“Hyung, chill. It’s the animal hospital,” Minho sounded like he was about to lose it on the other line, and Jisung could see several people in the room about to lose it for a  _ very  _ different reason. “I found a few kittens out in the rain, and one had a broken leg.” 

Jeongin suddenly snorted and leaned forward to grab the phone from Woojin, “Hyung. Please tell me you didn’t take two kittens to the hospital in the middle of your shift and that you are  _ not  _ currently sitting in the waiting room waiting for them to get out of whatever operations they needed.”

“I’m not waiting on two kittens,” Minh defended himself, “I have one in my lap right now, thank you very much.” Jeongin released a sigh that indicated he’d dealt with a similar situation before.  _ Imagine that,  _ Jisung thought,  _ Minho has repeatedly taken animals he finds on the street to the hospital. God, why did you make him one of the kindest people to exist? _

Chan had taken over talking to Minho and, from what Jisung could gather, Minho was requesting a few members come down to the hospital with his bag so he could get the money to partially pay for the vet bill. Chan told him they’d be there soon and hung up before turning to the 7 boys gathered around him. 

“I know for a fact Minho doesn’t have nearly 1.5 million won just on hand, so let's see how much we can compile to see about getting him to be able to keep the cats.”

Jeongin looked up, startled at Chan’s statement, as did several of the other boys. “Hyung, what do you mean, letting him keep the cats?”

“Well, Ninnie, Minho has given up a lot in his life up to this point.” Woojin began to explain, then turned to look at the rest of the group. “I’ve known Minho for a while, we know this, and one thing that he has  _ always  _ loved is cats. I remember at one point when we were just becoming friends, he would shower me with random cat facts throughout the day.” He nodded as small fond smiles graced almost everybody’s faces. “I think it’s time the world tries to be a bit nice to Minho. We can think of these cats as a Christmas present from all of us.” 

At the sounds of agreement that sounded from around the room, Chan directed everyone to go see how much money they had, telling them 100,000 would probably be plenty. A few of the boys winced at the amount, including Jisung, but when he thought of what all Minho had done to help him A) out of his writer’s block and B) just with life in general, he realized that it was a perfectly acceptable amount. 

They all went to their separate dorms and returned not even ten minutes later with wads of cash varying in size. Hyunjin and Felix, together, had about 250,000 won which they explained came from busking with Minho and then about 100,000 was from the coffee they hadn’t paid for because Minho would foot the bill when he took them out with the money he earned from busking, himself. 

Seungmin had about 150,000 and, according to him, that money came from half of each paycheck he had gotten working at Breaking Bread since his first shift with Minho. He had already been planning on giving the other the money, but it just worked to use it now. 

Woojin and Chan also collectively had 250,000 for Minho, although they apologized and said that the others would be getting more homemade gifts instead of something nice from a store like they might be expecting.  _ Not that anyone minds,  _ Jisung thought as he held up his own 125,000 that he had been squirreling away for a rainy day. At least it was raining today, so he was staying true to what he planned on using the money for. 

Finally, Changbin and Jeongin came back into the room. Changbin quietly put down 175,000 won with no explanation as to where it was from, but based on the gasp Hyunjin let out, it had been for something significant. Jeongin handed Chan 150,000 and explained with a soft smile that he had been saving money ever since his mother passed away so he could finally give Minho something in return for all that he had given him. The last 50,000 had been money that Minho had sent to the younger while he was at school, “In case I needed anything.” 

Chan counted up all of the money and looked up with a grim expression, “Do you think 1.1 million won will be enough?” The boys looked at each other and then at Minho’s bag. Jisung looked at the others and, when they nodded, he carefully opened it to see how much money the older had stored away. Jisung found three wads of bills carefully looped together and he pulled them out before unwinding the first wad. As he counted, the others started having a quiet conversation and Woojin looked at Chan with one of the looks you could only understand if you had been together for a long time or had a deep enough understanding of what the other meant. That had been one thing Jisung had always admired about the older couple. They never really needed words to tell the other what they needed, they used them for the ease of understanding, but the same point could be reached through looks.

“If I had to guess,” Jisung said, looking up, “Hyung probably has 450,000 won. This wad had 150,000 won in it, so we should be fine with what we’ve gathered.”

“But that would only leave him with 50,000 won to get the cats everything they would need,” Hyunjin protested.    
“Not to mention the additional vet bill for making sure they’re up to date on their shots,” Changbin butted in, wrapping an arm around Hyunjin’s waist in comfort. 

“For now, let’s just go with what we have.” Woojin calmed the others. “Chan and I will go to the convenience store while you all go to the hospital. We’ll worry about the food and other things he needs.” The group nodded and went to grab jackets and umbrellas for the rain. 

As Jisung was leaving, he saw Chan reach a hand out and cover Woojin’s.  _ Whatever plan they have, I at least hope they know what they’re doing.  _

~~~~

Minho should have expected more than two boys to pile through the door to the animal hospital, but he was sad to admit that he was shocked to see 6 boys greeting him with various expression. Jeongin was exasperated, Hyunjin and Felix were happy to see the older, Changbin and Seungmin were relatively neutral, and then there was Jisung. The younger boy practically threw himself at Minho when he saw him. He was careful when he saw the small cat curled up in Minho’s lap, but that certainly didn’t stop him from sitting next to Minho and forcing the other’s head onto his shoulder.

“If you ever go that long without explaining yourself again, we’ll be in the waiting room of a different type of hospital, do you understand?” He fussed and Minho couldn’t help but laugh.    
“Yes, Jisungie, I understand.” The rest of the group crowded around the two sitting boys and, as Minho counted heads, he realized two very important people were missing. 

“Where are Channie-hyung and Woojinnie-hyung?” He asked. 

Seungmin sighed and reached out to run a finger over the cat’s head. “They had a few errands that they needed to run, so they couldn’t make it.” Minho nodded and smiled down at the cat as she began purring. 

“Well, I hope they’ll be okay in this weather,” The boys nodded in agreement and they all eased around the room, waiting for an update on the other small cat. They chatted aimlessly while they waited, and eventually, an attendant came out of the room and called for Minho. He stood up, clutching the orange cat safely to his chest as he made his way over to the stand to talk with the woman in the scrubs. 

“Are you the one who brought the little tabby kitten in?” She asked, and when Minho nodded, she smiled and gestured for him to follow her behind the door. Minho glanced back at his friends and jerked his head to indicate he was following the nurse (or doctor. She could have very well been the doctor).

Minho was shocked by the cages that lined the hallway he was lead down. The doctor was talking as she walked, but Minho could really only focus on the kitten now shivering in his arms again at the cries from the other animals in the cages. 

“And here is your cat.” Minho looked into the smaller cage closer to the end of the hallway and saw the little kitten curled up in a ball, asleep. She had a small cast wrapped around her foreleg and the orange cat perked up when she saw what Minho was looking at.

“Thank god,” He sighed. Turning to the doctor he asked, “How long will her recovery be?”

“Well, considering the wound was fresh, there wasn’t enough time for any infection to take root and spread. I’d say you’re looking at about a month before we can take the cast off, maybe longer depending on how much pressure is put on it.” Minho nodded at what the doctor said, before asking the question that was really niggling at the back of his mind. “Can I take her home? Or does she need to stay for a followup or anything like that?”

The doctor gave Minho another kind smile before explaining, “We keep all animals overnight to monitor the effects of anesthesia and make sure there are no negative effects.” Minho made a slight noise of understanding and turned to look at the sleeping cat again, “However, you can get her in the morning.” The doctor said. “There will be no additional fee for her boarding because it’s just one night.” 

Minho could feel himself visibly relax when the doctor said that. He thanked her and turned to go back to the main lobby to figure out how much debt he was going to be in. There was  _ no way  _ he wasn’t going to protect these kittens. They deserved a home just as much as he deserved one. He had Jisung and his friends to take him in, now he felt it was only right to extend the same courtesy to the little furry babies who had no one. 

Smiling at the excited “Hyung!” that greeted him as he walked out the door, he reached out with his free hand to ruffle Jeongin’s hair as he ran up to him. “Guess what!” He prompted, voice filled with barely veiled excitement. 

“Um, let’s see,” Minho said, thinking of one of the most ridiculous things that could possibly happen. “Chan got in contact with JYP and managed to get you and everyone else here an audition.”

Jeongin let out a loud laugh, along with a bright, “No, hyung!” He looked Minho in the eye and contained himself in order to tell his brother that, “The nurse knew you saved the cats off the street, so she gave you the good samaritan discount! The hospital is only charging 1.3 million won and they’re willing to check on the animals and update their shots, free of charge since it’s Christmas time.” 

Minho felt his stomach drop out from under him and he looked over to see his shocked expression mirrored on each of his friends’ faces as Changbin yelled into his phone. “That can’t be true,” he protested, moving to the front desk to look at the bill Seungmin had in his hand. 

Looking down to see shots rung up, but with no cost next to them, his heart swelled, thinking that the cats would be taken care of, but he knew very well that he wouldn’t be able to foot the bill for the animals. Thinking of the extra shifts he could take to get the bill paid off as soon as possible, his eyes widened and a gasp escaped him when he saw the “Amount owed: 0.00 won.”

“You didn’t,” he whispered turning back to his friends to see gleeful looks on their faces once they realized he noticed. “You- you really paid for their care?” Minho saw his friends faces blur out before he realized that he was actually  _ crying.  _ A blurry form moved closer to him, and he felt Jisung’s arms wrap around him before he was led over to the chair he had been in before. 

“Hyung, hey hyung,” Jeongin was whispering as he crouched in front of Minho. “Hyung stop crying, we did this because we know how much you’ve wanted a cat, it only seemed right for us to try to get you two around Christmas time. There’s no need to cry, hyung. Hey, it’s going to be fine.” Minho felt himself calm down listening to his brother’s concerned reassurances and felt Jisung’s hand run up and down his back. 

“I- I don’t deserve you guys,” he gasped through his quiet sobs. “You really should have just left me where you found me. Thank you for taking me --” 

“Hey now, let’s not talk like that,” Jisung interrupted, slipping a hand over Minho’s mouth. Minho felt himself calm down more and realized what he had almost let slip, and he never felt more grateful for Jisung than in that very moment. 

Composing himself, Minho stood and looked at the receptionist, giving her a small nod in thanks before he was herded out the door by a concerned Hyunjin and Felix, who hadn’t been allowed to get close to him until that moment. As he was cooed over, he looked up into the rain and thanked whatever being decided to give him this little family of 9. 

~~~~

Jisung was going to be very frank, Jeongin was a godsend. He didn’t realize how much he didn’t know or did know about Minho until Jeongin was there to say “Actually he…” or to look at him with subtle appreciation for noticing something that the others hadn’t noticed about Minho. 

It was a week into the recent adoption of Nemo and Dory and, Jisung must say, Minho was a whole whipped father. Jisung was the proud co-parent of the cats, but Felix liked to argue that position with him. 

_ “They live in my room, they cuddle with me, what more do you want from me?” _

_ “As someone who devotes three hours a day to making sure Nemo and Dory don’t die, I think I earn the right to be the other cat dad.” _ _  
_ _ “Be the cat uncle and shut up already!” _

Needless to say, Jisung was very protective of his title., but he digresses. Minho almost had a conniption when he learned that Woojin and Chan had dropped another 100,000 won to get basic supplies for his new pets. He immediately threw the last wad of cash he had at the oldest boys and told them that if it didn’t go towards the apartment he  _ knew  _ the two were saving for, then it better go to something of equal value. 

Jeongin had laughed at the situation and called out a simple, “If you had asked I could have told you this is what he was going to do.” Jisung and the others also wanted to bring up the random 5,000 won that they found on their pillows the day after Minho was paid again, but Jeogin advised against it, claiming it was his older brother’s way of satisfying the debt he thought he owed the others. 

Jeongin was a blessing, but he was also a curse. After Minho had broken down at the clinic, he had been quieter around his brother, and Jisung was worried that the younger had figured out what Minho really meant when he thanked the others for taking him in. However, that wasn’t the real issue Jisung had with Jeongin, the real issue came from the way the boy would look at Jisung every single time Minho did anything remotely flirty and he would get a knowing gleam in his eye whenever Jisung would flirt back. It was infuriating, but there was nothing he could do about it without acknowledging  _ exactly  _ what it was he felt for Minho. He knew he felt butterflies (and there was that one mammal in stomach at the park, but that may have been a figment of his imagination), and he knew that Minho made him feel safe, but he  _ also  _ knew that Minho didn’t know about the scholarship that he now had two weeks to prepare for. Jisung’s emotions were not more important than Minho’s future, even if he hoped his emotions could be a part of his future ( _ shut up _ ). Jisung had been trying to tell the older about the scholarship all week, but every time they would try to meet so he could talk about it, Minho would get unexpectedly called away for  _ god knows what _ . 

With no other options, he decided to ask his friends to lend a hand. 

 

**WE ARE FAMILY**

**HeSings:** _ alright bitches i need help _

**HeSings:** _ i havent told minho abt the idol schoarsip yet and i need someone to help pin him down  _

**HeSings:** _ any ideas? _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ NO YU ABSOLUTE DUMBASS LOOK WHERE OU ARE _

 

**YeetLix:** _ i s2g _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ idol scholarship? _ __  
  


**WeeWoo:** _ gdi jisung this is why we cant have ince things _

**WeeWoo:** _ nice* _

 

**Chripsy:** _ tbh rt  _

 

**HeSings:** _ shit _

**HeSings:** _ hey minho since when have ou been here _

 

**MinnieMouse:** _ litereally since the chat was mad eyoure just stupid _

 

**NeenyNinnie:** _ really smooth, hyung lol _

 

**BruceLeeMinho:** _ jisung. _

 

**HeSings:** _ RIGHT anways idol scholalrship _

**HeSings:** _ it may or may not be this amazing opportunity fo ryou to go to svholl with us and have it full with no cost you just gotta prove you ve got what it take s to be an idol  _

 

**WeeWoo:** _ which you do! We’ve all heard you sing and we all know hyou can dance _

 

**CBing:** _ ur also like… noah fence _

**CBing:** _ but ur really pretty _

 

**Hyundsome:** _ rt _

 

**YeetLix:** _ Id deadass hang your poster over my bed bc ur that pretty plz _

 

**HeSings:** _ and basically auditons are in two weeks and like _

**HeSings:** _ weve paid all the auditojn fees and everything so you really jsyt gotta do it _

 

**NeenyNinnie:** _ omg _

**NeenyNinne:** _ hyung youve gotta at least try _

 

**HeSings:** _ sorry for not telling you sooner,,, _

_ ~~~~ _

Minho hadn’t spoken to Jisung for a week. The only people he really would talk to Hyunjin and Felix, and that’s because the two gave him no choice. They sat him down, explained that the showcase they had been working on was really to help him with the audition as well. He was going to have 10 minutes to showcase whatever he wanted in order to prove that he had idol potential. He had his showcase, a song that he and Woojin had worked on with the guitar to prove he could sing and handle an instrument. The final five minutes he was going to dedicate to rapping and freestyle dance. 

He worked extensively with the two boys but isolated himself from everyone else. Jeongin stuck close to his side, but he was constantly trying to get his brother to just  _ talk  _ to the others, and Minho refused to let that happen. 

So, three days before he was set to audition, he was walking down the hallway when Felix suddenly joined him. They talked for a few minutes before Felix said, “I’m sorry,” and Minho found himself pushed into an empty classroom. 

Well, empty wasn’t entirely accurate. Sitting in the room was Jeongin and Jisung. Minho looked at the two, then looked to see the rest of his friends crowded around the window in the door. He wasn’t getting out of the room without talking, it seemed. 

“Jeonginnie, Jisung,” Minho greeted as he sat down. He saw Jisung flinch at his lack of a nickname, but he only felt slightly guilty for it. “What have I done to be called here today?”

“Hyung,” Jeongin began, but Jisung cut him off. 

“Min, I’m sorry.” Minho looked at the younger sharply, shocked by the lack of the hyung he would always tag on. “I’m so sorry that I never told you about the scholarship and that you had to learn about it through text messages. I’m sorry that I made you think I didn’t care about your feelings. I just wanted to give you a place that you could really call yours. I wanted you to have a place that you could claim as your own that wasn’t that god-forsaken bench.”   
At this point, Jisung was crying and Jeongin was looking at the other like he had grown another head. Minho, personally, was shocked. He had no idea that Jisung had been this affected by his absence. “And- and hyung,” Jisung said, taking a deep breath and trying to compose himself, “You deserve so much more than your father gave you.”

As soon as he got that statement out, he began sobbing, almost violently, Minho had absolutely no idea what to do. He hesitated briefly, then moved very quickly at the look his little brother gave him. He hugged Jisung and sat down next to him, pulling the boy’s legs into his lap and he consoled the boy. 

“I just - I just want you back in my room.” He said softly, still crying, but much more controlled now that he had something to hold. (That had always been something that helped Jisung, Minho wasn’t sure why, but throughout their friendship, they had become very comfortable with cuddling and just being there for the other whenever they needed it. They were almost the other’s security blanket.) “I want you and Nemo and Dory back so that we can be those disgusting cat dads that everyone hates and I want to be able to talk to you whenever I want because I’ll  _ know  _ that we’re okay.

“I-I don’t know that right now, though, and even though I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like the answer, I’d rather know if you hate me or not so I can stop looking at the door every single time it opens hoping it’s you.” Minho’s heart broke, and he shushed the younger, pulling him closer to his chest. 

“I could never hate you, Jisungie,” he reassured the crying boy. “I’ll admit, you really hurt me when you didn’t tell me about the scholarship, but, Sungie, I just needed more time. If you had given me more of a heads-up or even yelled it at me in passing, I would have understood. But the way you went about it, even if you were intending on telling me a different way, it hurt. I wasn’t planning on leaving, though. Where would I go? Back to my community? You already know what happened there, I couldn’t go back, I’m not fresh to the streets. Back to my bench? You know very well I wasn’t going to last there much longer without getting arrested. Sungie I’d never willingly leave you and your family. You’re all my family, too, and I would fight tooth and nail to keep you.”

Jisung had been calming down, but at that statement, he dissolved into a blubbering mess again. “Hyungie you- you have to promise me that you’ll stay safe, okay? You’ve gotta stay off the streets for- for me.” Jisung looked up at him with wide and earnest eyes, “Please don’t give up on this scholarship. If you don’t make it, we’ll figure something else out, but we’re not going to let you go any quicker than you will. You complete our family, Minho-hyung.”

Minho smiled and leaned down to kiss Jisung’s forehead, not noticing the violent blush that spread across the boy’s face at the action. He hugged Jisung close to him and allowed the boy to completely gain his composure before looking to the door, wondering if he would be allowed to leave. 

He stood up, Jisung tucked under his arm with the younger’s arms wrapped around his waist when he was startled by an “ahem,” from the other side of the room. 

Minho froze, as did Jisung, and the two boys turned to look at Jeongin, who had perched himself on a desk across the room.    
“So, Minho-hyung,” Jeongin began with a sharp look on his face. “Do you want to tell me why you would be going “back to the streets” if our friends turned you away? Or are we going to let that just float about in the classroom for anyone to pick apart if they want to?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *play greatest showman soundtrack*
> 
> Jeongin appeared! I hope I did him justice this chapter, I know I kind of detoured with cats, but they're cats so I hope you'll forgive me. I'm back from vacation now so I'm going to devote a lot of my free time when I'm not brain dead to writing this and working on my other brain babies!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated, and please feel free to talk to me on  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/2minlix)


	6. I'm sorry I can't hear you over the sound of Changbin Pining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! It's the return of Minho's protection squad for this one...  
> Chan: Mom  
> Woojin: Dad  
> Changbin: CornChip  
> Hyunjin: Proteccer  
> Seungmin: Ataccer  
> Felix: ELixer  
> Jeongin: StaBaby  
> Jisung: MinhosHoe

_Shit._ That was the only thought going through Jisung’s head as he felt Minho stiffen next to him at Jeongin’s words. The two of them had completely forgotten the younger was there, and it seemed he had picked up on the context clues from Minho’s reassurances to figure out what was going on.

Jisung looked up from where he was now harshly pressed against the Minho’s side. The older boy’s face had gone completely blank as he turned to stare at his younger brother.

“You know, hyung, there’s one thing you’ve always told me to follow, even if it wouldn’t get me to the right places in life, at least it would keep me close to the people around me. You told me that I should never lie, _especially_ to the people I care about. I followed that clear through my last year of college, even if it meant I didn’t make as many friends as you may have expected me to make. Despite that, I knew that you’d be proud of what I’ve done with my life.” Jeongin’s face was a lot more angular than Jisung remembered, but he realized that must be because he had never seen the boy quite as serious as he was right now.

Minho sighed as he looked at his brother. Jisung could almost feel the terror radiating off of the other as he moved to sit the two of them back down at the desk they had been at when Minho was comforting him. Jisung pulled himself away from the older to lace their hands together, offering silent support as Minho prepared to do what Jisung knew terrified him about Jeongin’s whole visit.

“Jeonginnie, I know you’re mad,” Minho began, flinching as Jeongin scoffed. Jisung glared at the younger, and he quieted down to listen to what Minho had to say. “I know that I lied to you, and I broke your trust, but I had a good reason to do it.

“I didn’t want you coming home, or giving up your education to keep me comfortable. You want to be a doctor, Jeonginnie! You want to help others so they don’t lose what we lost. How on earth could I even _consider_ coming between that and my own personal comfort?  
“We lost the house shortly after you moved to Busan, but I stayed with a friend for about a month. When I couldn’t stay with him, I had nowhere but the streets to go…”

Jisung watched Jeongin as Minho told him what had happened to the boy throughout the time they had been apart. The younger’s face went from the harsh angles to a softer, more confused look. His eyes widened when Minho recounted some of his adventures with Yeji and Jae, and even Jisung chuckled at a few of the anecdotes that the older told.

“Then I met Jisung when he and his friends came to visit Seungmin at Breaking Bread. You’ve kind of heard the rest of the story from everybody else, but it was really these seven boys who saved me. If Jisung hadn’t forced me to go back to his dorm, I would have never met Woojin again. I wouldn’t have been able to get off my ass and get the job at the bookstore, I wouldn’t have the selection I have for a wardrobe if Chan and Felix hadn’t forced me to go shopping.

“Even though I was on the streets for a while, I think I was there because I wasn’t ready to move on with my own life. If I had wanted, I could have found a job, I could have reached out and found someone willing to help me. Instead, I decided to wallow in my own self-pity and not strive to get off the street. I was comfortable, I had a small support system, I didn’t have to worry about taxes or any bills. I didn’t need to worry about dad, or getting you enough food to survive off of while also trying to make sure dad didn’t get arrested.

“Being on the streets was almost an escape for me,” Minho explained with a faraway look in his eyes. Jisung tightened his grip on Minho’s hand as he saw a wistful expression cross his face. _I had no idea that he saw being homeless this way. Does that mean he hates me for taking away his freedom like that?_

“So you’re saying you’d go back to the streets again if given the option?” Jeongin asked, an odd smile falling onto his face. It was the first time he had spoken since Minho began telling him the unfiltered version of his history, and Jisung was secretly glad that the younger had asked. Listening to Minho, it sounded like he wanted nothing more than to drop the others and go back to his life of solitude.

“No,” Minho answered without hesitation, shocking Jisung. “I’ve made so many memories with the boys here, and, even if I wanted to leave, I wouldn’t be able to. Hyunjin would drag me back by my ankles if I thought of leaving.” Jisung felt his eyes well with tears at the boy’s casual admittance. _I am so weak,_ he thought after a particularly pitiful sniffle. _Him wanting to stay shouldn’t affect me nearly as much as it does, goddammit._

Jeongin adopted a knowing smirk as he looked between the two boys. “And I’m _sure_ that’s the only reason you want to stay.” He drawled, earning a confused look from his brother and a panicked glare from Jisung.

Jisung was about to argue with the younger, but Jeongin suddenly became very serious as he looked at Minho. “Honestly, it hurts that you didn’t want to tell me you were on the streets, but I understand why you didn’t.” Jisung felt Minho slowly relax, but the ironclad grip on his hand didn’t slack at all.

“I probably would have felt guilty the whole time I was away, I know I feel guilty right now for not being good enough for you to tell me about when you were struggling. I also know that there’s nothing I can do to change the past, so I’m going to have to live with it.”

Jeongin stood up and moved over to where Minho and Jisung were, and Minho looked at the younger with wide eyes, like he wasn’t sure what he was doing. Jeongin leaned over and wrapped his brother up in a hug very similar to the one he gave Woojin when they first saw each other. “Hyung, I know I can’t provide for you like you do for me, but it doesn’t change the fact that I love you.” He leaned back to look him in the eye, and Jisung felt like he was intruding on what was supposed to be a close moment for the two, but he was still trapped by Minho’s hand.

 _Oh, just kidding,_ he thought as Minho let go of him to wrap both arms around Jeongin. Jisung quickly scooted away from the two to give them as much privacy as he could, seeing as he was still locked in the room with them.

As he moved away, he heard Jeongin let out a soft sob into Minho’s shoulder. “I’m glad you didn’t die.”

Jisung’s heart broke in two, but nothing prepared him for the gentle, “How could I die, Jeonginnie? I hadn’t come home, yet.”

~~~~

When Minho had calmed Jeongin enough for the other to be presentable, they looked over to the door to see their friends were still crowded around it, but a fair few of them had tear-dampened cheeks and Chan was handing out tissues again. (Where does he even get them from?)

The trio made their way to the door, and the others backed away so they could finally leave the classroom. Once Minho stepped out, he was immediately pounced on by a sniffling Hyunjin and Felix as the others smothered the other boys with affection.

“Hyung, you know we love you, right?” Felix asked, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes.

Minho laughed and ruffled the boy’s head. “Trust me, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you lot love me.”

After the group managed to disconnect (although not by much, Minho had Chan and Changbin each attached to one of his hands, and he was sure the others were clinging to each other in some form or fashion), Minho went to Changbin’s room and retrieved Nemo and Dory, who looked up with small mewls when the door opened.

Dory had been healing well, she hobbled along next to her sister and would play with small bits of string that Changbin had lying around his room. Minho could tell that she missed Jisung’s room, though. He had been keeping the two kittens there because that was the least trafficked room, but when he and Jisung had their small fall-out, Minho moved out with only a small feeling of guilt for misplacing the cats in a place they weren’t familiar with.

“Hey, girls,” he greeted the cats with a small smile. “Are you ready to move back in with Sungie?” Reaching out, he scooped Dory up and cuddled her to his chest, grinning as Changbin did the same. He may have protested to the furry friends at first, but Minho loved seeing Nemo slowly grow on the shorter boy. He had a feeling he’d be getting a few more visits from Changbin after the break if he ended up staying for the second semester.

After he gathered the supplies for the cats, Minho and Changbin went over to Jisung’s room. When they got there, they were surprised to find the door already open for them, and Jisung and Jeongin were sitting on Jisung’s bed. Before they could go into the room, they heard a bit of what Jeongin was saying, “-Biology always _has_ been fun for me, but I also had to take a class for psychology.”

Minho found himself snickering at the terrified look that crossed Jisung’s face when the youngest brought up the class. He had heard many stories about the different intricate parts of the brain and how they could affect human reactions, and he assumed Jeongin was trying to intimidate the other in some way. Deciding to put the boy out of his misery, he knocked lightly on the door and the two boys turned quickly at the sound, Jisung lighting up when he saw Dory curled up Minho’s arms.

“Hey, baby,” he cooed as he got off the bed and ran up to Minho.

“Hello, yourself,” Minho smirked, feeling a strike of satisfaction at the way Jisung’s cheeks bloomed with color.

“Not you,” he muttered, ducking down to pet Dory before taking Nemo off of Changbin’s hands so he could set up the cats’ bed. “I was talking to _Dory.”_

_Cute._

In less than 10 minutes, the cats were returned to their rightful dorm and Jisung was curled on the bed with the two kittens purring as they pressed into his side.

“Hyung,” he began, and Minho turned from the cereal he had been pouring to look at him. “Are you glad Jeongin knows now?”

Minho thought for a few seconds before responding, “Yes and no. I’m glad that I don’t have to hide anything from him anymore, but I wish he could have found out in a bit different way.”

“C’mon hyung, you know you wouldn’t have told him if it hadn’t been forced out of you.”

“That may be true, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I hurt Jeonginnie with the way I told him.” Minho sighed and moved to sit on the bed next to Jisung, careful not to disturb the cats. “But it doesn’t matter now, it’s all just water under the bridge.”

“That’s right,” Jisung agreed, reaching up to grab some of the dry cereal. “And since there’s a lot of water, we had a lot to swim through. I think that means we all deserve a nap now.”

Minho smiled down at the boy, “Oh, really now? Is our Sungie tired?”

Jisung pretended to think for a second before whining, “Yes, so Minnie should sleep with me so the cats don’t get cold.”

Minho laughed and put the cereal on the desk before turning to face the younger, curling an arm over his waist, effectively caging their cats between them.

“Well then,” he said, pausing when Jisung let out a small yawn, “I guess we should really nap, then, shouldn’t we?”

Jisung nodded before snuggling into his pillow and sighing, “I missed you.”

Minho carefully tucked the boy as close to him as he could without disturbing Nemo and Dory and pressed a kiss into Jisung’s hair. “I missed you, too, Sungie. So, so much.” And with that final confession, the two boys dozed off, comfortable in each other's presence and knowing they would still be there when they woke up later.

~~~~

Minho woke up first, startled to see the sun was no longer in the sky. He looked down at Jisung and decided not to disturb the still sleeping boy. A lot had happened to him the past couple of days, he deserved as much rest as he could get.

Gently rolling out of bed, Minho made himself a small bowl of cereal and sat at Jisung’s desk, staring out to the city. _This could be my view of my own dorm if I end up making the cut for this scholarship._ Minho turned and looked at the messy room, the cats who had moved to their bed, Jisung, still curled up on his, and he felt an odd wave of nostalgia roll over him. _But if I have a dorm to myself, I won’t have Jisung or the boys with me. I won’t have Woojin or Chan. They’re graduating. And there’s no guarantee that I’ll make it in the first place. Since the boys are graduating, what am I going to do when they get a new RA who doesn’t let them keep homeless boys in their room? What if--_

And on and on his thoughts piled up, all backed by the same principle, _What if I’m not good enough?_ Finally giving up on his thoughts, he washed his bowl and left Jisung’s room, heading for the larger room at the end of the hallway. Knocking on the door, Minho felt an odd sense of deja vu wash over him.

A few minutes after he knocked, Woojin cracked open the door, only to grin and throw it open when he saw Minho standing in front of him. “Can I come in?” He asked in a voice far smaller than he could ever remember making.

“Always,” Woojin stepped to the side to allow Minho to step in, and he realized that the couple must have been getting ready to go to sleep. Chan sat on the edge of the bed, an oversized shirt pulled on backward (He slept without a shirt on, something Minho has found traumatizing but will never tell the other) and a sleepy grin drawn across his face.

“Hey, stranger, what brings you to this end of the hallway? Shouldn’t you be happily curled up with your Sungie?”

Minho scoffed, moving to curl against Chan’s side, not missing the fond smile that graced Woojin’s face. “My brain was too active to let me sleep,” he explained, sighing as Chan began running a hand through his hair.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Minho felt the bed shift as Woojin sat on the other side of him. Minho nodded, and then told the older boys ever stressor that had been running through his head. They listened to each issue he had, the list goes on and on.

Once he finished, they sat in silence for a few minutes before Chan spoke up. “One of the scariest things about graduating is not knowing what I’m going to do. I know I want to produce music, I know that I _can_ , but there are so many other producers out there with so much more experience, how can I know if I’ll be able to make enough money to pay bills by the end of the month?”  
Woojin grabbed Minho’s hand, pulling it so that it rested in his own lap. “For the longest time, I wanted to be an idol. I wanted to sing ballad songs and make people feel something when they heard my voice. But, recently, I found a job that does the same thing that would allow me to stay based in Seoul. I’m going to do vocal therapy and help people feel at peace after a traumatic experience. I’m going to be here, with Channie, and we’re looking at apartments in the complex 10 minutes away from here.”

Chan shifted and placed a hand on Minho’s knee, looking over his head at Woojin. “Do you know what the best part about the apartments we’re looking at is?”  
Minho hummed to show that he had heard the question.

“It’s a two bedroom complex with a complete living area and office,” Woojin answered, grinning at his boyfriend. “Meaning that, if need be, our boys could have somewhere to stay for an odd weekend, if they needed to.”  
“Or,” Chan said, noticing the way Minho had tensed up, “It could be for a friend who was down on his luck and needed a place to stay while he got his life together. He may not have gotten the scholarship he needed, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t pursue classes while not having to worry about living expenses.”

Minho tried, he really did, but when the boys told him that he would still have a place to go, that they wouldn’t abandon him, he felt the tears he had been holding back finally spill over.

“You- you’d really let me live with you?” He sniffed and looked up to the boys, pretending he didn’t hear Chan coo at him.

Woojin chuckled and ruffled his hair, “That’s Plan B, but I have a feeling we won’t have to worry about it because I think you’re pretty set to receive this scholarship. You’ve just got to give it your all a few days from now, and you’ll be set for life.” He turned so all three boys could easily lie on the bed. Chan rolled over and flipped the lamp off, and Minho felt himself completely relax between the two boys.

“For now, though, let’s sleep.” Chan yawned and rolled over, wrapping an arm around Minho’s waist.

“Everything will feel better in the morning,” Woojin agreed, resting his head on Minho’s chest.

Minho felt himself drift off, calmer and more comfortable than he had felt in a while. Right before sleep could claim him, he whispered, “Thank you, hyungs,” so softly he was sure the others wouldn't hear. As sleep claimed him, the other two boys felt grins spread across their faces. Minho was much more talented than he gave himself credit for. He would survive this audition, and he would flourish in their school. That much they were sure of.

~~~~

**Minho Protection Squad**

 

_[Proteccer has added StaBaby to the chat]_

 

 **StaBaby:** _*hacker voice* im in_

 

 **Ataccer:** _wait why is he here_

 

 **Proteccer:** _i mean he knwos about minho now so he can protecc with us_

 

 **Mom:** _im fine with everything here_

 **Mom:** _oh yeah isn’t min’s audition today_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _shit_

 

 **Dad:** _you forgot didn’t you_

 

 **CornChip:** _cmon sung even i knew that one_

 

 **Ataccer:** _disappointed but not surpised_

 **Ataccer:** _@proteccer and @ELixer hows it going over there_

 

 **ELixer:** _well hes stressed bc SOMEONE didnt wish him luck before he left_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _Me: *knows im an asshole*_

 **MinhosHoe:** _yall: ur an asshole_

 

 **Proteccer:** _but like… other than that hes actually pretty good_

 

 **StaBaby:** _oh yah hyung did stuff liek this all the time whne he had to go for the dance school_

 **StaBaby:** _i think the real reason hes stressed is bc he doesn’t want ot let yall donw_

 

 **Mom:** _oh my god im going to adopt him_

 

 **Dad:** _well even if we weren’t plannign on going out before, it’s official now_

 

 **CornChip:** _oh good i love free food_

 

 **ELixer:** _no we all pay for minho thats the rule of the world_

 

 **CornChip:** _id like to politely disagree_

 

 **Dad:** _tough luck im not paying for you_

 

 **CornChip:** _gdi_

 

 **Proteccer:** _oh hes going for his first bit_

 **Proteccer:** _he decided to sing first eye_

 

 **ELixer:** _which one of you jerks was gonna tell us hyung had the voice of a literal angel_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _*regrets being a not dancer*_

 

 **Ataccer:** _sucks to suck ig_

 **Ataccer:** _also isn’t he amazing? He just sounds so confident when he sings i didn’t know i could irl bias someone until this asshole started singign_

 

 **Dad:** _i should be offended, but im not even mad i love hearing minho sing_

 

 **Mom:** _:((((((((_

 **Mom:** _I wanna hear him sing :((_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _bitch me too you aint special_

 

 **CornChip:** _@Proteccer wahts happening now?_

 **StaBaby:** _wahts_

 

 **CornChip:** _ill end you_

 

 **StaBaby:** _id like to see you try_

 

 **ELixer:** _anyways ignoring that weve got to go we’re gonna dance with him be back in like two minutes don’t miss us too much_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _*REGRETS BEING A NOT DANCER*_

 

 **StaBaby:** _okay we have liek two minutes @MinhosHoe when you gonna confess_

 

 **CornChip:** _oh i like this question_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _im sorry i cant hear you over the sound of changbin pining_

 

 **Dad:** _sungie its getting ridiculous_

 

 **Mom:** _100% agree jsut tell him you love him and be gay together_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _shut the hell up it took you a year to confess to wojinniehyung_

 

 **Dad:** _but look how happy we are now ~_

 

 **Proteccer:** _oh my god hes still such a good dancer im shook_

 

 **Ataccer:** _@Proteccer welcome back @CornChip has something to say_

 

 **StaBaby:** _,,, worm?_

 

 **CornChip:** _id sell you for a toenail_

 **CornChip:** _cant say cornchip because that puts you at the same level as me and youre more worthless_

 

 **Proteccer:** _binnie ur not worthless_

 

 **ELixer:** _me, knowing minho is stupid good at freestyle: *watching minho freestyle* shit why is he so good_

 **ELixer:** _oh wait wrong atmosphere nvm_

 

 **CornChip:** _im glad you think so jinnie ur the only one who does_

 

 **Proteccer:** _bitch dont make me come over tehre and hug you_

 **Proteccer:** _i wont hesitate_

 

 **CornChip:** _… so tell me abt freestyle_

 

 **Proteccer:** _this convo isn’t done but fine_

 

 **ELixer:** _@MinhosHoe are ur loins ready_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _im gonna pretend i didn’t read that butim still gonna be disgusted that you wrote it_

 

 **Proteccer:** _so our darling hyung has been hiding some amazing contemporary moves from us_

 **Proteccer:** _his floor work is pure seduction idk what else to say abt it_

 

 **Dad:** _thats my boy_

 

 **Mom:** _im glad you finally claimed him i cant raise all these children alone_

 

 **Dad:** _shut up or ill get a divorce_

 

 **StaBaby:** _wait if hes onto the freestyle does that mean hes almost done_

 

 **ELixer:** _oh yeah we’re headed back in like 5 minutes he did amazing what can i say_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _gdi give me more of  warning my dorm is a mess how am i supposed to tell him how amazing he did when theres a wholeass pigstye that im living in_

 

 **StaBaby:** _he lives with you if it was clean hed be mroe concerned_

 

 **MinhosHoe:** _never has one statement both soothed and attacked me so successfully at the same timme_

 **MinhosHoe:** _good job little bro_

 

 **StaBaby:** _get married before you call me that ew_

 

 **Proteccer:** _okay leaving now be home soon_

 

_~~~~_

Jisung was a wreck. He wasn’t just a little car crash with a mailbox, no, in terms of wrecks he would be two semis running into each other at an intersection causing a pile-up that takes five hours to clear out.

Why? Jisung decided today was the day he was going to confess to Minho. And, _god damn,_ he was terrified of rejection.

He had everything planned perfectly. After Minho got back from his audition, he was going to go out with everyone and they were going to eat and celebrate Minho. Then, he was going to take Minho to the park where they first met and sit him on Minho’s bench. He was going to tell Minho every little thing about him that he loved and then (hopefully) Minho wouldn’t reject him and they’d kiss. The plan was perfect. Absolutely no room for error.

So _why_ was he pacing around his room like he was waiting for his wife to come out of labor? _It’s absolutely nothing. You have nothing to worry about. At least you’re doing better than Changbin._

Hearing the doorknob turn, Jisung launched himself on the bed to feign nonchalance when Minho poked his head in.

“Hey, Sungie,” he greeted, not suspicious at all.  _Perfect._ “I heard we’re going to dinner after Hyunjin finishes berating Changbin for think badly about himself again.”

Jisung hummed and turned to look at Minho (damn it he’s pretty he’s not supposed to look that pretty) who was still standing in the doorway. “Yeah, I think we’re going to that barbecue place we went to that first time you danced in the park.

Minho’s eyes widened in recognition and then hardened. He quickly strode over to the bed, careful to avoid Nemo, who had sprawled across the middle of the floor. He sat on the bed and turned to look at Jisung, who had turned on his back to stare at Minho in confusion. “Sung, before we go out I need to talk to you.”

Jisung felt panic rise up inside him, but he stamped it down as much as he could before nodding, “Go ahead, Hyung.”

Minho took a deep breath before looking down at his hands clasped in front of him, “It’s actually a confession of sorts.” Jisung felt himself startle at the word but stayed silent as Minho continued, “I knew you were at the park, and I knew you had given me the 10,000 won. I didn’t make the connection between you and the you at the bakery until after Jinnie started mocking you, but then I really understood.

“At first, I was really happy that you had been willing to just give me that much money. It was a lot more than I had received from a single person in a while, and I was incredibly grateful for that. Then, I met this cute boy at the bakery who seemed so interested in my icing job. He was a kind boy with some loud friends, and he seemed to always get distracted. I wasn’t quite sure why until I heard them talk about how he gave his last 10,000 to a random busker in the park, so he couldn’t pay. I realized that you recognized me from the park, and suddenly the cute boy had a kind heart, too.

“I thought that was the last I was going to see of you, and I was okay with that. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to have anything really concrete as long as I was on the streets, I would hate to endanger someone else because of my life. But then imagine my surprise when the kind and cute boy shows up hours later to save me from the rain. He takes me to his dorm without any hesitation and makes me feel safe. Then, instead of letting me escape into the street as any other good samaritan would, the boy forces me to stay around, and he goes so far to get me two cats and an education.”

Jisung’s eyes had slowly grown wider and wider the longer Minho talked. _Please tell me he isn’t doing what I think he’s doing._

“Finally, my brother comes home, and you fit so well with him, it was like he was meant to be part of our fold. That’s what made me realize you and your friends, our friends, were my family.” _Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry._ “And so, I wanted to be completely honest with you, Sungie. I love each of our friends for the amazing things they’ve done to help me, but I think I love you a bit differently. You don’t have to return my affection or anything like that, I just wanted you to know how much what you’ve done helped me and changed my life.”

Minho smiled down at Jisung, who could feel a pre-cry headache, but he ignored it because Minho said he loved him and now Minho was… leaving? _No, wait don’t do that._

“Hyung, wait!” He said, scrambling to grab Minho’s hand. The older turned to look at Jisung, confused by how panicked he sounded. “Are you not going to let me respond?

“I’ll admit, part of the reason I did all that stuff to help you was because I thought you were pretty, but what first drew me to you was how amazing you sounded playing the harmonica. Then you were so passionate with the cookies, and you made sure not to abuse my hospitality and all of those things just kind of piled together? I ended up falling for this amazingly kind man who wouldn’t let the world walk over him, who was willing to do anything for the people he cared about and who was just so talented at anything he tried to do. He inspired me to become a better person and I’m so glad that I decided to help you that day. Because _you_ are the person who helped change my life Minho-hyung. And, I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on letting go of you any time soon.”

Jisung pulled Minho back down onto the bed and pulled him in for a hug. It may not have been the beautiful cliche he was imagining, but he didn’t want it any other way if it meant he couldn’t hold the other like this. Minho shifted and placed a kiss on top of his head.

“We should probably get ready to go. Don’t want to keep a starving Seungmin waiting,” Minho said, moving to pull away from the younger again.

“Mm, you’re not getting away from me that easily,” Jisung grinned. “I don’t think a little peck on the forehead is enough for me anymore.”

“Oh?” Minho asked, leaning in, “And what might satisfy you? A kiss on the cheek?” He placed a gentle kiss on Jisung’s cheek, ignoring the read that seemed to spread from the spot. “Maybe a kiss on the nose?” As Minho leaned in again, Jisung quickly jerked his head up so that their lips connected. It was awkward, and Minho froze for a second before he seemed to gather his bearings.

Minho pulled back briefly before pressing his lips back onto Jisung’s, this time at a better angle. It was tame, the kiss was nothing like the drunk kisses he had previously, it was soft and tentative. Until, suddenly, it wasn’t. Jisung pressed back against Minho, the older slightly surprised. He realized what Jisung was doing quickly, though, and returned his kiss eagerly. Jisung felt Minho’s lips part slightly and wasted no time deepening the kiss.

They must have sat there for hours, completely involved in the other, not caring about whether the world was ending or not. Minho pulled back first, he was flushed, his lips red and full. Jisung felt an odd burst of pride as Minho ran a hand through his hair, trying to return it to something that wasn’t post-makeout hair. _I did that._

“We need to go,” Minho said, glancing down to check the time. “I promised Woojinnie-hyung I wouldn’t let the cats distract me for too long, and then you had to come and do this.”

Smirking as he rolled off the bed and slipped on some shoes. “If I hadn’t done it now, it would have happened somewhere much more public.” He snickered at the panicked flush that spread across Minho’s cheeks before the older stood and ambled over to him. Jisung tilted his head in confusion, but quickly grinned as Minho pressed a quick kiss to his lips before slipping his own shoes on.

“Well, I guess we can just put that on the bucket list. But for now, let’s go eat before I start eating Nemo and Dory’s cat food.”

Minho walked out first and Jisung followed closely. As Minho slowed down, Jisung shot him a confused glance before he suddenly felt his hand enveloped. _Oh,_ he thought, looking down.

As they walked down the hallway, hand-in-hand, Jisung knew one thing with absolute certainty. They may not graduate at the same time, Minho may not even get this scholarship, but no matter what happened, Jisung knew that he would have 8 amazing people to support him through anything. Even if one of the 8 might get slightly better treatment. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I've gotten this far. I can't believe the support this story has gotten. Thank you so much for everyone who has read and commented. I also want to take this time to thank my friends JR and Anna who had to put up with my nonsense rambling as I tried to make heads from tails with this story.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated! For the people who have stuck with me and commented and/or left kudos every chapter (you know who you are) thank you! For any new readers, thank you for getting this far! I hope you all enjoyed this little world I made for our boys.
> 
> Feel free to message me on [twt](https://twitter.com/2minlix) if you have any questions about this world or just want to talk!


	7. Epilogue

Minho looked at Jisung, the boy who had invaded his life and made it so he would never be alone.

He thought of the friends waiting for him, and he thought of his cats that he left in the dorm he invaded. After everything he had gone through in life, he knew one thing to be absolutely true. 

No matter how cheesy it sounded, Minho finally realized that home wasn’t where he lived, it was the people he surrounded himself with, the people he allowed to get close to him. Home wasn’t some extravagant mansion with luxuries lining every wall. Home could very well be the corner that Yeji and Taemin had made their own. Home could have been the bench in the park that Minho had eventually abandoned.

Home wasn’t a location, it wasn’t a brick house with a small garden in the back yard. It was the memories connected to the place that made it home. It was the feeling of security and belonging that one would associate with a place that would make it their home.

For Minho, home wasn’t a simple house. It was the small cramped dorm he was dragged into months ago during a storm. Home was curling up on Woojin’s bed with his little brother tucked under his arm while Jisung scowled at him from across the room. 

Home was the dance studio where he poured his entire being into perfecting a sequence. Home was Changbin’s dorm room with light shining through the window as he watched the boy panic over something Hyunjin had said to him. It was Chan tackling him with a hug in the quad because he had finally gotten the chord progression right on the song he was working on.

Home was the boys trickling in and out of the bookstore whenever he was on shift because they knew he got lonely if left alone, and home was Felix throwing churros at Seungmin because he wouldn’t stop studying while they were out.

Home was each and every single one of his friends. And home was right here, in the tired hallway, between his and Jisung’s linked hands as they went down to meet their friends.

Minho grinned at his realization, faintly hearing Jisung complain that he was slowing the pair down and that was just going to get them in trouble.

Finally, they reached the door, and right as Jisung pushed it open, and seven heads turned to see the two they’d been waiting on, Minho could only hear one thought over the complaints that instantly arose from Changbin and Felix for making them wait: _I’m finally home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throwback to last chapter when I said “yes I’m done.” I thought of this little blurb thingy last night and I just think that it works so well, so here I am adding it. It’s not long, nor is it really descriptive, but I think it’s what I needed. Hope y’all enjoy it! I love every single one of you who took time to read my super lame update.
> 
> Come scream at me! [twt](https://twitter.com/2minlix)

**Author's Note:**

> Yeehaw okay, I've been planning this fic for a while. The idea came to me while I was at work one night. (As a lot of my ideas do). I've got this part written and I've got a bit of chapter 2 written! I have no idea how long the story will be, but thank you for getting this far! Please leave comments and kudos! They're literally my only sustenance.


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